Thread by @jburcum

The MN Governor's COVID briefing has begun... focus is not on numbers but on human toll this pandemic is taking.

First up is former State Rep. Nick Zerwas.

It was 8 days ago when a mild cough turned into something more severe, Zerwas says. Thought he was on the mend but developed difficulty breathing. His PULSE OXIMETER alerted him to dangerously low blood oxygen levels.

It's in caps because this is a very useful tool with COVID coming in at hurricane force. If you don't have one, get one. Available on Amazon for around $20.

Zerwas was in ICU for 5 days. Says he made a miraculous turnaround thanks to care from North Memorial team and therapeutics -- remdesivir, steroids and convalescent plasma.

Zerwas underscores that the virus is here and is moving quickly throughout the community.

Now up a Minnesota mom whose teen-aged daughter contracted COVID and now has myocarditis. Urges Minnesotans to stay home and to quarantine after exposure.

Next speaker is Dr. Jon Cole, an ER physician at Hennepin Health in Mpls. Last March, he and his family were among the first COVID patients in MN. They were never hospitalized but added it was a "miserable two weeks."

He's back at work and says that the range of illness COVID can cause remains astounding.. can be mild or cause severe ilness. Masking, social distancing, testing and other mitigation measures that keep COVID "fire" from spreading.

In addition, he is worried that we "could be headed for a shortage of health care workers."

If your take on this is that Walz is continuing to make the public case for further COVID control measures, that would be my guess as well.

Now onto questions... why wait for roll backs on COVID measures? A. Walz says ground is shifting and that it's important to try to target measures. Need to reach out to stakeholders and do the legal legwork as well. Says he hears the "sense of urgency" from Minnesotans.

Gathering for Thanksgiving is one of the riskiest things you can do right now, Walz says. Having tens of thousands of "mini spreader" events could be "catastrophic."

Tough question from Dave Orrick to Nick Zerwas... yours has been the loudest, strongest voice among MN Republicans to take pandemic seriously. Do you have anything to say to them?

Zerwas says he hopes his message is that making sure all Minnesotans come together and recognize COVID is here, that it's flaring up, health care providers are pushed to the brink, incumbent on all to protect communities, neighbors.

His reply includes a troubling cough.

Zerwas: "If we don't take this seriously, God help us."

Walz is asked about hospital preparations.. state can still add 400 beds in 72-hour period. But the challenge now is staffing for these beds, with the virus hitting providers hard.

"This is as bad as it was in NY in the spring." Walz says. The good news is that treatments are better and that been time to prepare." But that does not excuse Minnesotans from doing their part to stem the viral spread through the community.

Q from Mary Lahammer about sports. A. Walz notes he has 14-year-old son who is devastated about this. Says he's not trying to be coy but being careful about dial turning. Will be a "pause" in a lot of youth activities. Expects it to be fairly broad. Guidance coming tomorrow.

Walz says a lot of different interests say 'but it's not us' spreading this. (questioner raised this about youth sports). Walz said COVID spread is uncontrollable and requires broad action. And says as a coach he understands importance of sports, but this is a crisis.

It sounds like fall sports will be impact as well as winter sports.

*impacted

More from Walz: Turning dial to more restrictive settings should not come as a surprise to anyone watching alarming, rapid growth in cases in the Upper Midwest. Also says federal government needs to move relief bill for affected businesses and their employees.

"It's going to be a very difficult four weeks." -- Gov. Tim Walz

Q. If virus doesn't affect kids as severely, why focus on youth sports? A. Walz says the virus does impact kids, as previous speaker's daughter shows. There's also asymptomatic spread to others who are at higher risk. Now at point where the virus is affecting huge #s of people.

Walz ends with plea for Minnesotans to take individual action to control viral spread. And that's a wrap. Thanks for following along.