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.

Evers extends Wisconsin stay-at-home order until May 26
Gov. Tony Evers on Thursday extended Wisconsin's stay-at-home order for another month, keeping nonessential businesses closed until after the Memorial Day holiday weekend to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Where does Walz get that executive power for COVID-19 actions?
The peacetime authority of Minnesota governors has been on the books for decades, but no governor has employed it as much as Gov. Tim Walz in the coronavirus fight.
U of M says it can do widespread COVID-19 testing with homegrown tech
University of Minnesota experts say with $20 million in state funding they could soon begin testing up to 10,000 people per day for the coronavirus and another 10,000 per day for the presence of antibodies that indicate they have recovered from COVID-19.
Counter Stories: COVID-19 is hitting communities of color hard
Whether it's the illness itself, the racism that comes with it, or the unsafe conditions for workers now deemed essential, the coronavirus is exacerbating racial injustices.
Local farmers, reliant on shuttered schools and restaurants, find new markets
Thousands of Minnesota farms grow food that supply schools, restaurants and families with everything from meat to vegetables to flour. The coronavirus pandemic has turned many of those markets upside down.
10 years of spectacular U.S. job growth nearly wiped out in 4 weeks
The number of people filing for unemployment climbed by another 5.2 million, as the toll of the nation's economic dive continues to mount. In the past four weeks, 22 million have filed claims.
Smithfield Foods closes plants in Wisconsin, Missouri
Smithfield Foods will temporarily close its plants in Cudahy, Wis., and Martin City, Mo., because of the coronavirus pandemic. Smithfield said a small number of employees at both plants have tested positive for COVID-19. The company’s Sioux Falls, S.D., plant is closed indefinitely after an outbreak there.