Coronavirus In Minnesota: Martin County, On The Iowa Border, Sees Disproportionate Cases Of COVID-19
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- One southern Minnesota county seems to stand out when looking at the number of positive COVID-19 cases across the state.
Martin County, on the Iowa border, has seen 25 people with confirmed cases of COVID-19.
Though the Minnesota Department of Health doesn't know exactly how the virus spread to that county, local Martin County officials are focused on slowing the spread. They saw the first case on March 18, but since then, the county's executive director of human services said they've started seeing a slow trickle of cases. At one point, there was a backlog when everything appeared to be under control.
Eventually that backlog caught up to them; several days later, the county received six confirmations in one day.
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Martin County is in the Mayo Health system. They say they have enough tests and - factoring in Mankato and Rochester, which are both accessible hospitals - they also believe they have enough ICU beds.
"The area that I think we have the most concern now, which is everywhere, is personal protective equipment and making sure we can have enough equipment for all of our facilities, hospitals, and healthcare workers," said Chera Sevcik, Executive Director of Human Services of Fairbault and Martin Counties. The guidance on those things is continually changing, so it's just trying to stay on track of what the guidance is."
The other issue the county is having right now, much like everyone else, is in finding essentials like groceries.
A quarter of Martin County's population of 20,000 is over the age of 65. That's double the percentage of any metro county. Many of these residents are concerned and are stocking up for the long haul.
The advice in Martin County is the same everywhere, which is the supply chain is strong. Just purchase what's needed at the store, but save some for the people in the community who need it the most.