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Hagedorn hosts phone town hall on COVID-19

Congressman Jim Hagedorn (MN-01) hosted a telephone town hall Friday to address concerns related to COVID-19.

Hagedorn was joined on the call by Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development Executive Director Bob Isaacson, Acting Minnesota District Director of U.S. Small Business Administration and Mayo Clinic physician Dr. Deepi Goyal.

Hagedorn began by applauding medical care professionals and others working on the front lines, including farmers, truckers, grocery store workers and all who maintain the food supply. He also thanked those for producing fuel and electricity and the businesses stepping up to make protective medical devices.

Hagedorn gave an update on congressional action related to the pandemic. Three bills were passed in the last month related to coronavirus. He said the first was an $8 billion for testing to ensure it was free and universal and start work on a vaccine.

The second bill was for $100 billions for paid sick leave for those out of work because of coronavirus. It also expanded family and medical leave, nutritional programs for school kids and meals for our seniors.

The third was a $2 trillion bill giving direct money to individuals. A family making less than $150,000 would receive $1,200 for the adults and $500 for children or roughly $3,400 for a family of four. Later in the meeting, he said a single person making under $75,000 will also receive $1,200 and should see a stimulus check in the next few weeks.

Another $350 billion will be for small businesses and employees. This is the paycheck protection program. It allows banks to issue loans to small businesses. If this money is used for retaining employees and basic needs, the loans turn into grants.

An extra $600 per week is available for those on unemployment until they are called back to work. Money for hospitals is also available to prevent them from closing. Money through the Commodity Credit Corporation will provide to farmers.

Hagedorn took questions from constituents on the call.

Asked for an update on the status of medical supplies congress requested be brought to Minnesota from the federal government, Hagedorn said Gov. Walz requested what was needed, but said the federal government was a backstop.

“It’s the states that need to make sure they handle their own affairs, but we will continue as a delegation and be attentive to that,” he said.

One constituent stated there were 400 unemployed Minnesotans for every positive case of COVID-19 and asked if the economic downturn was more dangerous than the virus itself.

Hagedorn agreed this was taking an incredible economic toll, but will leave it up to healthcare experts, the Governor and President to make these determinations.

“That’s why we’re trying to do everything we can to practice social distancing,” Hagedorn said. “We’re going through enormous sacrifice to minimize this to get passed as quickly as possible to restart our economy.”

Dr. Goyal said these social distancing measures may seem extreme, but the positive cases in Minnesota are small compared to New York.

“It is imperative these measures be implemented early,” Goyal said. “It is the only way to flatten that curve and be prepared to manage the cases we will be seeing and not have the situation in New York where that rapid rise overwhelms their system.”

Goyal later said the virus spreads through infected droplets, but many people don’t have symptoms. The only way to stop the spread is through these social distancing measures.

“We’re in an unprecedented situation right now,” he said. “Unless we take these measures we’re going to see doubling rates of this virus.”

Goyal said in New York the infection rate doubled within two or three days that overwhelmed the healthcare situation. This leads to the problems reported in Italy where there are not enough ventilators or people to take care of the infected.

“I can’t express the importance enough of social distancing,” he said. “Without knowing it you could be spreading to other people.”

There were other questions about small businesses covering costs. Isaacson said the paycheck protection program provides small businesses with funds to pay up to eight weeks of payroll. Part of the plan is the loan could be fully forgiven if 75% is used for payroll. Loan payments can be deferred six months. All small businesses with 500 or less employees and nonprofits are eligible.

On questions of drug and ventilator shortages, Dr. Goyal said this is the most disruptive event in our time. He said Mayo is keeping a close eye on the supply chain for protective equipment and drug supplies.

“So far we haven’t seen any supply shortages,” he said. “We are watching it with conservation efforts to make sure we don’t run out.”

Goyal also answered questions about the antibody tests being conducted at Mayo Clinic. He said Mayo’s test launched in early March has allowed Minnesotans to be tested early on at a greater rate than the rest of the country. This test detects the presence of the virus in patients. The new antibody test being launched next week will detect an immune response in an infected patient.

Goyal said the advantage of detecting antibodies is it could help identify people who have sufficient antibodies to recover. Goyal stressed this was still a theory, but it might help create a serum to help other development antibodies to fight the disease.

Goyal was also asked about hydroxychloroquine as a potential treatment for COVID-19. Goyal said it was being explored as a possible treatment, but it was important to understand that it should not be touted as one.

“These drugs do have significant side effects,” he said. Those using the drugs without appropriate monitoring have experienced serious complications.

Goyal said Mayo is booking trials with hydroxychloroquine but said it is not ready as a cure right now. He said people have taken medicines like this off the black market resulting in serious medical problems. He urged people not to take any medicine without supervision from a physician.

There were questions about assistance for livestock farmers. Hagedorn said there were $10 billion in the last bill for livestock and congress is working with agriculture to get this funding to producers. Hagedorn said he does support another round of market facilitation payments for trade disruption.

“It is critically important we maintain our food supply and it’s critically important we maintain our farmers,” he said. “This is through no fault of their own that they are dealing with this.”

The last question was about how to care for a person with COVID-19 or suspected to have the virus without contracting the disease.

Goyal said recommendations are to isolate a person with COVID-19. He recommended people visit CDC.gov for information on how best to protect themselves and families.

Hagedorn said his office has worked to repatriate people who were overseas when travel was shut down. He said 12 people from the district were repatriated from this district and are working to bring others home.

Small business owners with further questions were encouraged to visit SBA.gov for information on resources.

Hagedorn encouraged constituents with further questions or concerns to email Hagedorn.house.gove or call the district office 507-323-6090.

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