The nine-member Frontline Worker Pay Working Group could never come to an agreement on which pandemic workers should be eligible for the $250 million set aside by the Legislature.
For one thing, students are back in classrooms. For another, the delta variant is far more contagious than the original strain of coronavirus Minnesota saw last fall.
Data from the Minnesota Department of Health show the state added 16,617 new cases in the seven days between Sept. 15 and Tuesday, for an average of 2,373 new cases per day.
In previous waves of COVID-19 infections in Minnesota, increased hospitalizations were soon followed by increased daily death tolls. Not this time, so far.
While more than 90 percent of residents in far southwest Minneapolis are fully vaccinated, less than 50 percent of residents in other parts of the city are.
The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry says 96 percent of COVID-19 infected workers covered under the new law had their workers’ compensation claim accepted. Those who didn’t qualify saw their claim denied 72 percent of the time.
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