Coronavirus Updates: The Latest COVID-19 Headlines From March 15, 2020
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- On Sunday, Gov. Tim Walz ordered all of Minnesota's K-12 schools to temporarily close starting Wednesday in the hopes of slowing the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). The Minnesota Department Of Health released an update Sunday on the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Minnesota, announcing that the number of patients who have tested positive has increased from 21 to 35. Also, several schools across the metro area are opting to close ahead of Wednesday's statewide closure.
Here are the latest updates on COVID-19-related headlines from Sunday, March 15:
- 10:19 p.m. REI closes 162 stores nationwide.
- 10:15 p.m. The Armed Forces Service Center at MSP airport will shutdown temporarily on March 14 and hopefully will reopen on April 13.
- 9:27 p.m. St. Paul Art Crawl on April 24 - 25 has been canceled.
- 8:04 p.m. Xcel Energy suspends service disconnections.
- 7:57 p.m. Karl-Anthony Towns donated $100,000 to Mayo Clinic with the intention the donation will help increase testing capacity.
- 7:49 p.m. St. Paul Mayor Carter declared a local state of emergency.
- 7:10 p.m. Essentia health announced the restriction of visitors.
- 7:08 p.m. Trader joes cut their hours beginning March 16, they'll be open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- 7:08 p.m. Starbucks is limiting their hours and making some locations to-go only.
- 7:08 p.m. Urban Outfitters/Anthropologie closed all stores around the globe, and will not reopen until at least March 28.
- 6:55 p.m. D'Amico & Partners will temporarily suspend operations for their Minnesota restaurants March 16 - April 12.
- 6:27 p.m. Lululemon Stores in North American and Europe will be closed March 16 - March 27.
- 5:30 p.m. Seward Community Co-op located at 2823 East Franklin Avenue is temporarily closed due to a staff member testing positive for COVID-19.
- 4:07 p.m. The Federal Reserve slashed its benchmark interest rate by a full percentage point to nearly zero and announced it would purchase more Treasury securities to encourage lending to try to offset the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
- 4:10 p.m. St. Francis Area Schools will be closed March 16-17.
- 2:17 p.m. Bloomington Public Schools will close starting Monday
- 2:10 p.m. St. Paul Public Schools will close starting Monday.
- 1:20 p.m. No MSHSL activities or athletics at any member school starting March 18 - March 27.
- 12:50 p.m. Brainerd Public Schools close for students Monday and Tuesday; everyone starting Wednesday.
- 12:04 p.m. St. Cloud, Sartell and Sauk Rapids-Rice Schools close starting Monday.
- 11:25 a.m. Minneapolis Public Schools open on Monday; closed beginning Tuesday.
- 11:24 a.m. Hennepin County Jail restricts in-person social visitation.
- 10:50 a.m. Elk River School District to close starting Monday.
- 10:28 a.m. Eden Prairie Schools to close starting Monday.
- 10:00 a.m. Coronavirus In Minnesota: COVID-19 Cases Rise To 35.
- 9:36 a.m. Coronavirus In Minnesota: Gov. Walz Orders Closure Of Public Schools Across State Starting Wednesday.
- 6:15 a.m. Nike closes all stores across US, Canada, Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand March 16-27.
To see a list of all school closings and delays click here.