COVID-19: Coverage of the pandemic from MPR News

The latest news, resources, guides and tips to help you stay up to date on the coronavirus pandemic.

Tensions rise as virus cases surge in Wisconsin, Dakotas
The three states now lead all others in new cases per capita, after months in which many residents and politicians shunned mask requirements while downplaying the risks of the disease. It is increasingly apparent that those choices have come with costs.
'So frustrating': Doctors and nurses battle virus skeptics
Doctors and nurses treating those sick and dying from the coronavirus say the politics of the crisis are complicating treatment efforts. In Springfield, Mo., the families of some of those hospitalized with the virus don't believe it is real. At a Wisconsin hospital, some refuse to be tested. 
Long-standing mistrust threatens to hamper testing in MN communities most vulnerable to COVID
COVID-19 disproportionately affects people of color in Minnesota. Public health experts hope more targeted testing will improve those statistics. But cultural barriers and distrust can stand in the way.
Next Trump-Biden debate now uncertain as rival camps argue
President Donald Trump says he will skip next week’s debate with Democratic nominee Joe Biden if it's virtual. Biden is rejecting Trump’s proposal to push back their remaining two debates in the wake of Trump's coronavirus diagnosis.
Oct. 8 update on COVID-19 in MN: Hospitalizations jump; 8 more deaths
The newest numbers follow a stretch of more than a week when average new daily case counts topped 1,000. Separately Thursday, the state loosened some virus-related restrictions on restaurants and other public gathering places.
Candidate Jason Lewis self-quarantines for 2nd time in week
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jason Lewis left the campaign trail for the second time in less than a week Wednesday after learning that he had been in contact with a person who tested positive for the coronavirus.
Tribe reports scramble for hospital beds in South Dakota
A small hospital serving the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe has sent two coronavirus patients to an out-of-state hospital in recent days, even as South Dakota’s top health officials insist the state has plenty of hospital capacity for COVID-19 patients. The two patients were sent to Minnesota.