Lowertown Community Response

COVID-19 News & Information

Lowertown COVID-19 Home Outbreak Liveblog

Please submit any new reports to Lowertown.info via the contact page or email at info@lowertown.info. Follow @lowertowninfo on Twitter for regular updates about new additions to this timeline.

Nigel Parry/Lowertown.info—Week 1: March 6-12th, 2020: Tracking the local impact of the COVID-19 virus in Lowertown, Saint Paul, MN. From the first reported Minnesotan case through the first week, when the number had risen to 14. Reports of impacts are listed in chronological order, by day.

Friday March 6th, 2020

The Minnesota Department of Health confirms the first case of novel coronavirus in Minnesota, an elderly Ramsey County resident who recently returned from a cruise ship vacation:

News Release: Health officials confirm first case of novel coronavirus in Minnesota https://t.co/yx2P2KHOoV

— mnhealth (@mnhealth) March 6, 2020

Monday March 9th, 2020

Saint Dinette becomes the first Lowertown hospitality venue to address Coronavirus concerns on Facebook:

Wednesday March 11th, 2020

The Buttered Tin becomes the first Lowertown hospitality venue to acknowledge the Coronavirus on Twitter:

TBT has reviewed all of our standard practices with COVID-19 expanding in order to keep our sanitary standards in check for all staff and customers. Our partner @Ecolab , has continuously supported us in our sustainability and standard practices! #thebutteredtin pic.twitter.com/Uu0Iu2rV9W

— The Buttered Tin (@TheButteredTin) March 11, 2020

Thursday March 12th, 2020

The St. Patrick’s Association of St. Paul announces on its website that the annual St. Paul St. Patrick’s Day parade has been cancelled. The organization commented “This would have been our 54th year celebrating, and we did not make this decision lightly. The St. Patrick’s Association of St. Paul is in alignment with the guidance being provided by the city and health department officials. They are strongly recommending all gatherings greater than 250 people be cancelled or postponed, along with encouraging the public to follow social distancing best practices.”:

Yesterday, the St. Patrick's Association of St. Paul announced the cancellation of the annual parade in a statement on its website. The parade usually starts in Mears Park, #Lowertown and proceeds Downtown. https://t.co/ZprkTayVWo #COVIDー19 #Coronavirus pic.twitter.com/GRfCUsDaxf

— Lowertown.info (@lowertowninfo) March 13, 2020
The Twin Cities Jazz Festival, which takes place in Lowertown at the end of June, announced that it is postponing its Winter Jazz Festival in Minneapolis, putting the Lowertown event in question:

We made a difficult decision today. Due to the growing concerns over COVID-19, Winter Jazz Fest scheduled for March 29 at the Granada has been postponed to a late summer 2020 date. We want our jazz fans and musicians to be safe.

— TC Jazz Festival (@tcjazzfestival) March 13, 2020
The Minnesota Museum of American Art announced on its website that it is “currently open, but for the safety of the community, events and classes through May 7, 2020 have been canceled or postponed.” The closure affects five upcoming dates:

The https://t.co/PIGyJzzTCU home page has updated information regarding the M's response to COVID-19 concerns.

— MN Museum Amer Art (@mnmuseum) March 12, 2020
In a 12:15pm post on Facebook, the Saint Paul Farmers’ Market assured shoppers that “We intend to keep our Markets open as scheduled, continuing to serve you.” The Market added that, “We are taking steps to keep people and foods safe. Our Markets are held outside – in the fresh air, the aisles are wide, and there is plenty of space. We’ll have hand washing stations set up and medical gloves available upon request. We hope you all are well. If you are feeling ill, please have a friend do your shopping and stay at home. We are encouraging our vendors to do the same. We all need to take precautions.”
Larger downtown venues Xcel Energy Center and the Palace Theater announced postponements of multiple upcoming events to July/August. The Science Museum of Minnesota announced that the museum “is open, but we’re keeping track of COVID-19”:

The Science Museum is open, but we’re keeping track of COVID-19. If you need to reschedule your visit to the museum, please contact info@smm.org.
For those who are going to visit, learn more about what we're doing to ensure you have a safe experience ? https://t.co/pnEyCoLY3y

— Science Museum of Minnesota (@sciencemuseummn) March 13, 2020
At 5:45pm, the Black Dog Cafe posted a video on Facebook educating staff and patrons by explaining what they are doing to join other restaurants in “#FlatteningTheCurve”—the social media hashtag that exists to promote simple primary healthcare practices that will prevent the COVID-19 from spreading: