"Mayo Clinic has unveiled a plan to cut $1.6 billion in pay, withdraw nearly $1 billion from its financial reserves and save another $700 million through a hiring freeze to counteract a $3 billion loss inflicted by the coronavirus. A large portion of this loss was the result of Governor Tim Walz’s ban on non-essential procedures that has cost Mayo up to 75% of its business in some areas."

Thank You, Alpha News.

"

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO/AP) — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has issued an executive order directing Minnesotans to stay at home for two weeks in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic Wednesday afternoon. Walz made the announcement in a 2 p.m. address from his residence, during a daily update on the pandemic with state health officials. The stay at home order goes into effect Friday night at 11:59 p.m. and is scheduled to end on April 10th.

Walz also announced that the closure of bars, restaurants and other public accommodations will be extended to May 1, 2020.

We think this is an important story. We are not sure the Governor meant what he said. There are two ways to take this message. One is that he was referring to Angela Merkle's and Boris Johnson's assessment of a couple of weeks ago. Or, on the other hand, that he is going with a laissez-faire strategy, not do very much, let people become sick until the point of herd immunity which is in the 60% to 80% range.  Both Angela Merkel and Boris were roundly criticized by their countryman and woman as they understood what that meant. This is why Boris Johnson changed his tune. He was accused of not fighting this virus and waiting until it ran its course. You should also note that the South Koreans did not close much up but used testing to ferret out who was sick and the shops and restaurants remained open.