• Governor’s Media Briefing on Thursday, 4/23: SAH Order remains in effect while the Administration considers ways to gradually loosen restrictions, starting with the settings most conducive to safe practices.
• EO 20-39, 4/22: Providing administrative flexibility to Department of Human Rights.
• EO 20-40, 4/23: Allowing workers in certain non-critical sectors to return to safe workplaces. It is anticipated that this EO will allow up to 100,000 Minnesotans to return to work in industrial, manufacturing, and office settings (as necessary and with safety plans in place), as of Monday, April 27.
• More guidance about Executive Order 20-40.
• EO 20-41, 4/23: Extending the distance learning for students through the end of this current school year.

• The question on everyone’s minds was asked of the Governor on Thursday: “Has the time of the Stay at Home Order bought us what we wanted and or what we needed?” The Governor reminds us that, “yes, it has. But I need to remind Minnesotans, the hardest days are still ahead. We are still climbing to the peak. We have the plans now in place to build out additional ICU beds if we need them. But the social distancing must continue or what we have gained can be lost.”

• Commissioner Malcolm: Important to understand that the goal right now is testing every symptomatic Minnesotan. We believe we have the capacity right now to get every symptomatic person to a place to get tested. As the serology tests evolve, we hope to make those even more expansive and available.

• 75% of the state’s deaths are at long term care facilities.

• From DEED
• Total UI applications since 3/15/2020: 536,742.
• This week alone, DEED received 30,000 UI applications.
• EO 20-40 allows industrial, manufacturing and office settings that are not customer facing to return to work. Estimated to apply to approximately 20,000 Minnesota businesses.
• Based on the above, it is up to each individual business to decide whether it wants to open.
• In advance of having anyone return to work, a business must:
• Engage in health screenings of employees and ensure that sick employees stay home.
• Continue to allow employees to work from home whenever possible.
• Create, share, and implement a COVID-19 Preparedness Plan that sets out the actions they are taking to ensure social distancing, worker hygiene, and facility cleaning and disinfection necessary to keep workers safe.
• Re-opening is not allowed in any customer facing or retail portions of a business.
• The interactive Minnesota COVID-19 Public Dashboard can be found here.

• DEED is seeking feedback on a draft of safety guidelines it made public on Monday.

• In Saint Paul: On Wed, City Council vote to approve the long awaited – and debated - Ayd Mill Road Plan for a greenway. The $7.5M project is anticipated to be underway in July and expected to be completed by the end of this year, reducing the roadway from 4 to 3 lanes.

• Citizen League’s Executive Director Pahoua Yang Hoffman has accepted the position of Senior Vice President of Community Impact with the Saint Paul & Minnesota Community Foundation, succeeding Ann Mulholland. She will start on May 18. Laura Monn Ginsburg is stepping down from her position as Board Chair to serve as an interim Director.