The COVID Pandemic Arrived in Rochester On This Day 5 Years Ago

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - Today marks the five-year anniversary of the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic to the Rochester area.

Olmsted County's first positive COVID-19 case was announced on March 11, 2020. KROC News coverage at the time stated that the person who became ill did not require hospitalization and was recovering in isolation at home. The infected individual had recently traveled internationally in an area where COVID was active and it was suspected that that's where the person contracted the then novel viral illness. At that time, Rochester Public Schools Superintendent Michael Munoz announced that the school district was still operating normally but was preparing for a possible shutdown.

Preparations for the coming pandemic began earlier, at about a week before Olmsted County's first confirmed case of COVID, local health and government leaders held a news conference in Rochester, which was the first official public event dealing with the global outbreak.

A day later, KROC News reported that Minnesota had its first confirmed COVID-19 case. It involved a Twin Cities resident who had taken a recent trip on a cruise ship.

A day after the first confirmed case was announced in Olmsted County, Governor Tim Walz declared a statewide peacetime emergency because of the growing spread of the coronavirus. The next day, the City of Rochester announced the closing of Graham Arena, the National Volleyball Center, the Recreation Center, and the Quarry Hill Nature Center. Rochester Civic Theater also announced all of its shows had been canceled.

Get our free mobile app

On March 15, 2020, Governor Walz ordered the closing of all public schools in Minnesota. Rochester Public Schools suspended classes two days later, but indicated the school district planned to resume classes on April 5. In reality, it took about a year for Rochester Public school students to begin a normal schedule and there continued to be temporary closures into 2022.

The statewide COVID shutdown began on March 16, 2020. Governor Tim Walz ordered the closure of bars, restaurants, and other places of public accommodation. Olmsted County declared a health emergency the next day and began to limit access to its public facilities due to the pandemic.

The noteworthy events associated with the growing pandemic accelerated rapidly over the following month. Olmsted County began operating a community COVID testing site at Graham Park on March 20 and on March 21, Minnesota recorded its first COVID-related death involving a Ramsey County resident in their 80s.

Governor Tim Walz announced he was placing himself and self quarantine two days later after learning he had been exposed to the virus, apparently by a member of his security team. Announcements were also made by Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, who indicated her husband had contracted the illness and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan disclosed that her brother had died after becoming ill with COVID in Tennessee.

The first COVID-related death in the Rochester area occurred on April 2, 2020. Olmsted County health officials indicated a resident of a long-term care facility, who was in their 90s, had succumbed to complications.

The economic impact of the pandemic hit home about a week later when Mayo Clinic announced plans for COVID-related pay cuts and furloughs. A few days later, state officials issued a report that showed that more than 450,000 Minnesotans had filed for unemployment benefits as the impact of the COVID shutdown froze most economic activity.

Vice President Mike Pence made a stop in Rochester two weeks later. He visited Mayo Clinic facilities and thanked the staff of the Rochester-based healthcare giant for their efforts in battling the pandemic.

Minnesota’s Peacetime Emergency for COVID finally expired in June of 2022 after Republicans in the state legislature made it a condition for the approval of a budget deal needed to avert a potential state government shutdown. The federal Public Health Peacetime Emergency didn’t end until the following year. The effects of the COVID pandemic continue to impact the economy, politics, and education locally, statewide, nationally, and globally. While many of those lingering impacts are clearly evident, it may take years, if not decades, to fully gauge the effects on society.