March 26, 2020

Dear MTCS Families,

As most of you know by now, yesterday, Govenor Tim Walz, announced that schools will remain closed until at least May 1, 2020. This would mean if possible school would resume on May 4, 2020. He also announced that from Friday March 27 through April 10, he is putting a Stay Home Order in place. This will mean you can leave the house for groceries, medical care, pharmacy, to get take out or drive through food from restaurants, pick up essentials for neighbors or family, and spend some time outside. When you are outside, you need to be with only your family, go for a short walk around your neighborhood, or go for a bike ride, or something similar, but do not congregate in groups while outside.

You should not be going to work unless you are an essential employee, which means that you work for a medical center, grocery store, or other place on the essential list. Please try to spend as much time as you can at home with your family. As of March 25, 2020, there are currently 287 cases of COVID-19 in Minnesota, and this is with very strict testing guidelines. Many people who do not need hospitalization are not being tested at this time, so this number is falsely low.

The reason Governor Walz has put these things in place, is to give Minnesota time to create new spaces to serve as clinics and hospitals, to get more Personal Protective Equipment to hospitals and clinics, and in general give more time before the peak of the viral outbreak of COVID-19. If we can slow the spread for a few weeks, more than we have been already, this will in the end save lives. It takes time to put together all of the information and equipment needed to create hospitals out of sports stadiums and other spaces, and he is asking Minnesota to help give him, our leaders, and the medical community in our state this time.

When you look around the world, we know it is going to get worse before it gets better, and we must stick together as a school, city, state, country, and world to combat this virus. If you have any questions about school and distance learning please reach out to your child’s teacher or administration. If you have any questions or concerns about the COVID-19 outbreak that you would like to ask me personally, my phone number and email address are listed below. Please reach out, I am available to help in any way I can.

In Health,

Tara Meyer, RN, BSN, PHN, Licensed School Nurse
(612) 202-8802
tara@navigatecareconsulting.com