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.

Long-term care complaints rise during pandemic
The state ombudsman for long-term care says widespread labor shortages in the industry can lead to abuse and neglect.
As U.S. COVID deaths near 1 million, advocates press for a memorial day
Millions of people in the U.S. have lost someone they love to COVID-19, and advocates hope to have those losses marked each year on the first Monday in March.
As COVID cases plummet, students take off their masks
Rochester Public Schools is the latest district to relax its masking requirements, making them mandatory only under specific circumstances. For one family, choosing to mask now is a matter of individual choice.
Latest on COVID-19 in MN: Winter surge receding rapidly
Minnesota’s pandemic path continues to brighten, with fewer than 400 COVID patients in the hospital now and known, active cases trending near a seven-month low.
You can order free COVID tests from the government again
More than half of U.S. households have ordered at-home tests for COVID-19 tests to be shipped to their homes. Now they can get more.
Osterholm: A blueprint on moving to the 'next normal' in pandemic
A bipartisan group of scientists and health and policy experts calling themselves the COVID roadmap group are releasing a blueprint Monday on how we could move into what they call “the next normal.” A member of that group is Michael Osterholm, the head of the University of Minnesota Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy.
As COVID spread in federal prisons, many at-risk inmates tried and failed to get out
Federal prisons saw a significant rise in deaths during the pandemic years, NPR found. Of those who died from COVID-19, nearly all were elderly or had health conditions, and many had tried to get out.