Thread by @Stowydad

At a briefing where he's tacking two weeks onto Minnesota's stay-at-home order (until May 18), @GovTimWalz says "it's time to assess where we're at."

He says sense of urgency around the economic situation is "real and validated."

Says it's not a public health v commerce choice.

"Today, there are a lot of positives to talk about."

"Minnesotans have saved lives and bought us critical time," Walz says of the restrictions to date.

Walz says, "I would like to give thanks to the administration, Vice President Pence and President Trump."

He says the feds will come through with swabs needed for testing.

Walz says while Minnesota's infection numbers are rising (in part because of added testing) but hospitalization and ICU are staying away from a concerning tolerance level.

New executive stay-at-home order is: Beginning on Sunday, May 3, 2020 at 11:59 pm through Sunday, May 17, 2020 at 11:59 pm

On masks and face coverings. "I strongly encourage all Minnesotans to wear a manufactured or homemade cloth face covering at all times when they leave their homes and travel to any public setting where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain."

Read the full Stay At Home executive order here: documentcloud.org/documents/6880…

Portion on retail: "Businesses in this category include retail stores and other businesses that sell, rent, maintain and repair goods that can be picked up outside, without entering the place of business, with limited interaction between employees and customers..."

Businesses that provide services such as household goods rental, maintenance services, repair services, and pet grooming are included to the extent that they can adhere to the guidelines below. "

"Salons and barbershops are included only to conduct retail product sales, excluding sales of service chemicals not intended for retail. Salons and barbershops may not provide any services."

Walz: "Those who are saying we should open up all businesses tomorrow because this is not serious and we overreacted, they are wrong."

Walz says the curbside retail balances his concern about business viability without moving faster than health situation allows. "recognizes that we are on a very fine line with this virus that can come very very quickly. It won't be a slow burn. It will be an exponential growth."

Back to the order: "The closure of bars, restaurants, and other public accommodations set forth in Executive Order 20-04, as amended by Executive Orders 20-08 and 20-18, is extended until May 17, 2020 at 11:59 pm."

Walz says Minnesotans adhere to a "social compact" that reflects people looking out for neighbors and the vulnerable.

"We believe these dials can start to turn, with testing."

"We're not setting the dials in place until May 18th, we're setting them for today."

Walz implies that he could further loosen the restrictions to allow for more in-store activity if the curbside option goes well.

Walz invites input on medical elective surgery restrictions and expects to announce modifications to that in the coming days.

Walz shows a chart that puts elective procedures, customer-facing businesses, small family gatherings, places of worship and then high contact businesses (barbers/salons) next on his consideration list for "May and beyond" for rebooting (in order).

Walz says some might occur between today and May 18 depending on what the health data is showing and the efforts to ramp up testing and contact tracing.

"It is going to be different. All of us have come to that. Even as we reopen it is not going to be same."

"If you're already teleworking, keep doing that."

Says people should wear masks if they can, calls it a "simple gesture."

"Continue what you are doing in your social distancing. Even if there were not a stay-at-home order, that is the thing to do because that is the surest way to get beyond this," Walz says after completing his power point.

Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm says of the latest deaths:

6 in 90s
7 in 80s
8 in 70s
2 in 60s
1 in 40s with significant underlying health conditions

Employment and Economic Development Commissioner Steve @grove says the new guidance was developed in consultation with retailers, chambers of commerce and other entities.

Grove says phases matter because both business and customers can acclimate and it will inspire confidence.

. @grove says any retail store that comes back in on Monday will have to have a COVID19 preparedness plan.

They can use a state template or develop their own.

The state is not asking them to file the plans for review.

State can ask for plans if complaints lodged.

"Under no circumstances can customers enter a business when they are there to pick something up. In every place possible we ask that they stay in their cars." -- @grove

. @grove says 584,431 unemployment applications since March 16.

Bruce Nustad, president of the Minnesota Retailers Association, says there are 69,000 retailers in Minnesota in total.

"We take very seriously health and safety. Every interaction with a customer today is done with the thought of how is this going to be done in a safe manner."

Nustad says thousands of retailers (10k-15K) will be allowed to reopen through the order that aren't operating now. They employ many thousands more.

He says situation requires patience and believes that full reopening of stores is coming soon.

Finally to questions, Walz is asked if he's moved the goal posts on reopening.

"That's simply not the case."

He says customers writ large are not ready to go back into stores in the same fashion as before.

"If I believed I could crank that dial all the way to the right today, that's exactly what I'd like to do. But it is not ready."

Walz says if the dial is cranked wrong "it is catastrophic."

Walz asked about stats that 99% of deaths are in long-term care or have underlying conditions and whether that will feed his future decisions.

Says society can't build a proverbial wall around the most vulnerable because asymptomatic carriers create a risk.

Says test, isolate.

Walz "Minnesota is climbing the curve" but won't be bound by CDC guidance that 14 days of declining case figures needed for reopening.

"I would not put people out there and open up the way we are opening up some of these things if I believed the risk factor was too high."

Walz on summer weddings:

"I won't pretend that I know how bad your heart is breaking. i can't imagine what that would be like. Also the same with trying to bury our dead."

On graduations:

He says first lady @GwenWalz is working on it. "We're going to have to figure out something on this. ... We're spending a lot of time on it. ... We're trying to figure out a way."

Walz back on larger weddings, possibly by the end of May or June they'll be back to a position where they can be held without risk.

Walz concedes stay-at-home relies on social adherence.

"People are moving around," he says. Adds: "We are getting it as right as anybody else in the country. We could get it as wrong as anybody else in the country."

Walz says most citations have been add-ons to other offenses.

"I have the same restlessness as everybody else. We're at mile 20. It feels like it would be easy to sit down in this marathon."

But Walz says mistakes would allow virus to come roaring back.

When is more public information about modeling coming?

Walz says an update is in the works and "close."

Walz to nervous workers: "We're not going to ask them to go back into a situation that's unsafe."

"This is Yelp on steroids, if you will, about which businesses are doing this right. What is the word on the street how they're getting it."

He and @grove encourage collaboration.

Nustad says some retailers are likely to wait until after Monday so they can be sure they've got the right protocols and protections to ease concerns.

"If the consumer doesn't come back there is no need to offer those services."

Walz on dine-in restaurants:

"I won't even attempt the pain that these folks are feeling because this is an industry with such a small margin."

He says they'll get lead time because they need to order food, etc.

He doesn't give definitive answer if May 18 is go time for them.

Conversations with dental services about resuming routine cleanings are "active," says @grove but it comes down to PPE and clinic procedures.

Walz says the highly interactive services, including hair care, are tricky and subject of continued deliberation.

Walz says no decision yet on summer camps, youth sports events.

"I'm a little more hopeful we're figuring out new ways to do this."

"This is evolving so quickly."

"It behooves us to look at this in small chunks and not see those small chunks frozen in time."