In the latest weekly report, fifty-one positive COVID-19 cases were announced Monday by the University of St. Thomas’ Center for Well-Being Monday, five fewer than the previous week.
One employee and 50 students tested positive, with all but two coming from the St. Paul campus.
No evidence shows classroom or lab transmission, according to the message on the COVID-19 Dashboard.
“The bulk of the transmission appears to be within groups of students living together both on and off campus or groups of students who have gathered in small groups without distancing and/or mask,” the dashboard message said.
A Minneapolis health care system says the coronavirus pandemic has caused deep operating losses, forcing it to close 16 clinics in Minnesota and Wisconsin and reduce its workforce by 900 employees.
Fairview Health also plans to shut down Bethesda Hospital in St. Paul–the facility that had been handling COVID-19 patients. The care will be transferred to St. Joseph’s Hospital. Inpatient mental health care will continue at the downtown St. Paul hospital at least through 2021.
Fairview says it’s bracing for a $250 million operating loss this year that has been exacerbated by the pandemic. The most recent financial records show Fairview posted an operating loss of about $66 million in its second financial quarter from April through June this year. Suspension of non-urgent surgeries dramatically reduced its revenue.
The job cuts amount to about 3% of the health care providers workforce.
President Donald Trump’s decision to return home from a military hospital despite his continued illness is putting new focus on the people around him who could be further exposed if he does not abide by strict isolation protocols.
Throughout the pandemic, White House custodians, ushers, kitchen staff and members of the U.S. Secret Service have continued to show up for work in what is now a coronavirus hot spot, with more than a dozen known cases this week alone.
Trump, who is still contagious, has made clear that he has little intention of abiding by best containment practices.
Sara Thibault can be reached at thib9782@stthomas.edu.