Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz faced fierce criticism for putting sick COVID patients into nursing homes during the height of the pandemic — even doubling down on his decision when the facilities accounted for a staggering 81% of his state’s pandemic deaths.
“This was not a mistake,” Minnesota’s governor said in May 2020, around the time that the North Star State had the highest percentage of COVID-19 deaths in long-term care facilities in the nation
“This was what everyone was doing,” he said of the nursing home policy similar to one partly behind the downfall of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
“It wasn’t like no one thought about this. There was complexity in how you deal with this,” he said defensively in the face of severe criticism.
Gov. Tim Walz has been criticized for allowing hospitals to discharge patients recovering from COVID-19 back into nursing homes. ZUMAPRESS.comEarly in the pandemic, more than 80% of the state’s COVID-19 deaths were among care-home residents — the highest of any state, according to analysis by the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity, a nonprofit.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was among those warning that nursing-home populations were at increased risk of being infected by — and dying from — the coronavirus, with the sick and elderly most vulnerable.
However, Walz’s administration wanted to rush sick patients back to such homes, despite warnings that they did not allow safe distancing or the level of prevention needed, the Park Rapids Enterprise made clear at the time.
The policy has since been scrubbed from the public-facing Minnesota government website, according to Fox News, which used the Wayback Machine to find it.
“Patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 who still require transmission-based precautions for COVID-19 can be transferred to congregate living facilities,” the policy said.
“It is the recommendation of MDH that patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 can be discharged when clinically indicated and neither discontinuation of transmission-based precautions nor the establishment of two negative COVID-19 tests is required prior to hospital discharge.”
Many families complained during the pandemic that they weren’t notified about COVID-positive cases in nursing homes and never got to say their goodbyes. Star Tribune via Getty ImagesThe policy is just one of many Walz is now under fire for since becoming Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate.
He was known for having one of the most draconian COVID responses, jailing those who refused to follow his strict guidance — and even allowing riot cops to fire paintballs at residents standing outside their homes, newly resurfaced footage shows.
“From overseeing the largest COVID-19 fraud scheme in the country, to asking neighbors to tattle on one another for violating lockdown mandates, to forcing hospitalized COVID patients back in their nursing home facilities — Tim Walz proved during the pandemic he does not have the competency to lead in times of crisis,” House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) recently told The Post.
The coronavirus pandemic posed an increased threat to people in nursing homes. Star Tribune via Getty Images“Like the rest of his tenure as governor, Walz’s pandemic response was a complete and utter failure.”
In 2020, then-New York Gov. Cuomo directed New York nursing homes to accept patients believed to have COVID-19 – a decision that subjected his administration to fierce criticism and played a key role in his downfall. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer faced backlash for similar policies.
