State health officials on Thursday stopped short of calling for cancellation of K-12 classes but encouraged schools to practice social distancing and other measures to reduce the threat from COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by a new coronavirus that has spread to nine Minnesotans.
The decision comes in contrast to decisions by the University of Minnesota and other institutions to suspend in-person classes and switch to online instruction.
The coronavirus hasn't been a significant problem in children worldwide, and school closures could be disruptive and force urgently needed health care workers to stay home with their children, said Kris Ehresmann, state infectious disease director.
"There are concerns about access to nutrition and other important school services," she said. "And closing schools means that a large number of parents need to stay home with their children, and many parents are health care providers. So closing schools also has an impact on our health care system."
The latest round of testing identified four new cases of COVID-19 in Minnesota — with Hennepin, Dakota and Stearns counties seeing their first cases. Ramsey County now has three cases. All nine cases in the state involve people who were infected while traveling or who were infected through contact with others who had traveled, Ehresmann said.
Minnesota so far has not identified a case of transmission from one person to another within the state — which would signal that the virus has gained a firm foothold here and that stronger measures might be needed to reduce its spread.
"Minnesota is not at a point where you are seeing community transmission," Ehresmann said.
Minnesota's public health lab has so far tested saliva or nasal samples from 316 patients. The state doesn't have unlimited testing capacity and is trying to make sure it tests samples from people at greatest risk or who have the greatest likelihood of infection based on travel history and other factors, Ehresmann said.