Richfield Surpasses 2,000 Positive Coronavirus Cases

Press release from the City of Richfield:

November 23, 2020

It took more than six months for Richfield to experience 1,000 positive cases of COVID-19, yet it took only about six weeks for that number to double. On Sunday, November 22, the City of Richfield officially surpassed 2,000 positive coronavirus cases.

“It is heartbreaking that Richfield residents have been affected so adversely by this devastating virus,” insisted Mayor Maria Regan Gonzalez. “Unfortunately, COVID-19 is not just spreading, it is getting worse. Being overly cautious in everything you do is not a bad thing as we watch the number of positive cases rise in Minnesota.”

On November 20 at 11:59 p.m., Governor Tim Walz enacted new restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus. The new restrictions include no indoor/outdoor dining at bars and restaurants, the closing of gyms and fitness centers, no wedding receptions, celebrations or private parties, the closing of indoor entertainment venues, the pausing of organized adult and youth sports, closings of public pools and rec centers, and restricting social gatherings to just one’s own household. These restrictions will last through December 18.

“The data being collected by the State of Minnesota and the contact tracing being done by our public health officials is painting a pretty clear picture of how and when this virus is spreading,” explained Richfield Community Health Services Administrator Jennifer Anderson. “A lot of times, as the night wears on and alcohol is consumed at our bars and restaurants, people are becoming careless in terms of proper COVID-19 mitigation practices.”

From the start of the pandemic until the beginning of October, daily positive case totals rarely rose above 10 new cases per day. Since October, quite the opposite has been the case, with most days seeing at least 30 new positive cases, and with November 9 seeing a record high of 59 new positive cases.

Proportionally, the city’s Latinx population has been hit the hardest by COVID-19. Forty-six percent of all positive coronavirus diagnoses in the City of Richfield have been in the Latinx community.

“Richfield is blessed to be a very diverse community with people coming from all around the world and making the city their home. It is one of our community’s greatest strengths,” remarked Ward II Councilmember Edwin Garcia. “COVID-19 is affecting our Latinx community particularly hard and we are doing everything we can to provide them with the resources they need.”

To date, 154 Richfield residents have been hospitalized because of COVID-19, with 30 of them needing to receive additional attention in a hospital intensive care unit.

Twenty Richfield residents have passed away because of the virus.

In accordance with Minnesota Department of Health recommendations and the governor’s new restrictions, the City of Richfield will also be changing some of its operating procedures to reduce the possibility of virus spread in the community. The Recreation Services Department will be cancelling all in-person programming until further notice at both the Wood Lake Nature Center and community center. Also, all programming and activities at the Richfield Ice Arena will be suspended until at least December 18.

“These are tough decisions, but we will always put the safety and health of our community and staff first,” stated Recreation Services Director Amy Markle. “We are planning safe recreation alternatives that will continue to create community and engage our residents”.

To align its practices with the governor’s recent “dial back” guidelines, the Richfield Motor Vehicle and Passport Office has moved all services to drop box only. The office is in the process of implementing an online scheduling program, which will allow for customers to wait in their vehicles and be notified when it is their turn to see a motor vehicle clerk and have their transaction processed. This change should allow for greater social distancing for both customers and city staff.

All other city hall services have moved to appointment only.

The city is in the process of evaluating all of its practices to see where it can further reduce the spread of COVID-19 to residents, customers and staff.

“Back in the spring, when the virus first came to Minnesota, we had to quickly alter our operations to keep everyone safe,” remembered City Manager Katie Rodriguez. “We learned a lot through that process. We have also learned a lot more about the virus over the past several months. I am confident we can adjust our service delivery in a way that keeps our residents, customers and staff safe.”

To better understand how COVID-19 is impacted the City of Richfield, visit the Community Health Service’s online dashboard: www.richfieldmn.gov/COVIDdashboard.

This press release was produced by the City of Richfield. The views expressed here are the author’s own.