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.

May 13 update on COVID-19 in MN: Walz ending stay-home order, keeping dine-out ban
Minnesota is moving to a new phase in its COVID-19 battle that will let more businesses welcome customers back inside. But while the stay-at-home order is ending, “we’re not flipping a switch and everything’s going back to normal at once,” Walz cautioned in his broadcast address.
Act now to get ahead of a mental health crisis, specialists advise U.S.
Suicide rates typically drop during natural disasters and other crises but then spike in the months or years after. So mental health specialists are looking to build psychological resilience now.
Pressure on Walz grows as COVID-19 orders set to expire
Amid political pressure and outright defiance, Gov. Tim Walz must decide whether he will maintain restrictions aimed at containing COVID-19 or ease off of them. He plans to speak to Minnesotans in a live address at 6 p.m.
Coronavirus concerns lead to a homegrown SPCO 2020-21 season 
The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra will mount next season without guest artists and artistic partners due to financial and safety concerns.
Feds warn airlines once again to offer customers refunds
The Department of Transportation received some 25,000 consumer complaints in March and April, up from about 1,500 a month. DOT will also allow airlines to stop serving some cities with little demand.
The children and preteens of the U.S. polio epidemic of the 1940s and '50s are once again in a high-risk group, this time for coronavirus. They recall their experiences and the parallels to today.
Despite early warnings, U.S. took months to expand swab production for COVID-19 test
Widespread testing for COVID-19 is still not happening in the U.S. Although experts have been urging the federal government since February, it took until late April to ramp up production.