TALK
TALK CANDIDLY ABOUT BEING AT THE HELM DURING A PANDEMIC.
>> THANK YOU, GOVERNOR, GOOD
AFTERNOON.
AFTERNOON. >> EVERY DAY YOU MAKE YOURSELF
AVAILABLE, YOU ANSWER A LOT OF
QUESTIONS ON A VARIETY OF
TOPICS.
TOPICS.
TOPICS. >> WE FELT COMPELLED TO MOVE
EARLIER, FASTER, AS FAST AS WE
COULD WITH THESE ANNOUNCEMENTS
TODAY.
TODAY.
TODAY. >>
TODAY. >> WHAT KEEPS YOU UP AT NIGHT AS
YOU LOOK AT THIS?
>> I HAVE TO CONFESS, THERE ARE
A FEW NIGHTS LIKE THAT.
I THINK IT'S HOW MUCH WE STILL
DON'T KNOW.
DON'T KNOW. AND TESTING IS A GREAT EXAMPLE
OF THAT.
OF THAT.
OF THAT. THERE ARE SO MANY UNANSWERED
QUESTIONS ABOUT WHEN IN AN
ILLNESS TESTS ARE MOST VALID.
I THINK WE'VE GOT A LOT TO LEARN
ABOUT WHERE TESTS ARE HELPFUL
AND, FRANKLY WRSHG THEY'RE NOT.
>> WHEN YOU SPOKE LAST WEEK ON
THIS, YOU HAD SAID IT SHOULD BE
JUST A MATTER OF A DAY OR TWO
BEFORE SOMEONE CAN GO INTO THEIR
DOCTOR AND GET A TEST LINED UP.
>> TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE WHO CAN'T
GET IT WHERE THEY NORMALLY WOULD
CAN BE DIRECTED TO WHERE THEY
CAN SAME DAY.
>> YOU'VE BEEN HEARING WHETHER
OR NOT IT IS THAT EASY RIGHT
NOW?
NOW?
NOW? >>
NOW? >> WE DO KNOW THAT WELL OVER 90%
OF THE POPULATION IS WITHIN AN
HOUR OF A TESTING SITE THAT
ALREADY EXISTS.
ALREADY EXISTS. I'M PRETTY CONFIDENT WE'LL BE IN
THE 5,000 A DAY RANGE, AT LEAST
DURING NEXT WEEK.
>> WHAT'S THE MAJOR OBSTACLE?
>> THE NASAL SWABS.
SO CERTAIN TESTING PLATFORMS
NEED LITERALLY DIFFERENT SIZE
AND SHAPES OF SWABS, IF YOU CAN
BELIEVE IT.
BELIEVE IT. SO FIGURING OUT HOW TO PROCURE
THE RIGHT VOLUMES OF THE RIGHT
TYPE OF SWABS HAS BEEN WHAT'S
BEEN OCCUPYING MORE TIME THAN
YOU WOULD IMAGINE.
>> ANOTHER TOPIC OCCUPYING TIME,
WHETHER GOVERNOR WALLS WILL
EXTEND MINNESOTA'S STAY-AT-HOME
ORDER BEYOND MAY 4th.
IF IT WERE UP TO YOU, HOW APT
WOULD YOU BE TO START ROLLING
THINGS BACK?
THINGS BACK? >> YOU KNOW, I ABSOLUTELY
UNDERSTAND THE TRADEOFFS AND THE
DIFFICULTY OF THE DECISIONS.
IT PRESENTS SUCH AN UNUSUAL
RISK.
RISK.
RISK. EVEN IF WE DIDN'T HAVE BUSINESS
CLOSURES OR STAY-AT-HOME ORDERS
IN PLACE, IF WE'VE GOT THIS
WIDESPREAD ILLNESS IN THE
POPULATION AND WHOLE HUGE WORK
FORCES UNABLE TO WORK BECAUSE
THEY'RE SICK, THAT'S A THREAT TO
THE ECONOMY AS WELL.
AS MORE WORKPLACES RETURN TO
OPERATION, THEY NEED TO DO SO IN
NEW WAYS.
NEW WAYS.
NEW WAYS. >> Reporter: THE COMMISSIONER
SAYS THAT MEANS GET USED TO FACE
MASKS, DISTANCING, HEALTH
SCREENINGS AND AVOIDING LARGE
CROWDS AT WORK AND IN PUBLIC
LIFE FOR MONTHS TO COME.
WHAT WOULD YOU TELL MINNESOTANS
ABOUT HOW THEY SHOULD THINK
ABOUT THE NEXT YEAR?
>> WE'RE ALL GOING TO HAVE TO
KEEP IN LINE THAT WE STILL ARE
IN KIND OF A STAY-AT-HOME
OVERALL STRATEGY, NO MATTER
WHAT.
WHAT.
WHAT. UNFORTUNATELY, SOME OF THE
THINGS THAT WE ENJOY THE MOST
ARE GOING TO BE THE HARDEST
THINGS TO GET BACK TO.
>> IT'S SOUNDING LIKE YOU WOULD
BE SURPRISED IF THERE WAS A
STATE FAIR.
STATE FAIR. >> WELL, I WOULD.
I KNOW THAT'S SUCH A TOUGH
DECISION.
DECISION.
DECISION. IT'S, FRANKLY, HARD TO IMAGINE
FROM WHERE WE ARE TODAY THAT
THINGS WOULD HAVE CHANGED THAT
DRAMATICALLY WITHIN THESE NEXT
FEW MONTHS TO MAKE THAT SAFE TO
DO.
DO.
DO. WE
DO. WE JUST -- WE KNOW THE VIRUS IS
STILL OUT THERE.
WE KNOW, BUT NOT A LARGE ENOUGH
PART OF THE POPULATION IS GOING
TO HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO THE
VIRUS BY THEN.
AND THAT'S REALLY PAINFUL.
BUT WE'RE GOING TO JUST HAVE TO
KEEP SOME OF THESE BEHAVIORS
WITH US FOR A LONG TIME.
>> Reporter: THOUGH SHE'S
DESCRIBED BY HER COLLEAGUES AS A
STAR IN THE PUBLIC HEALTH WORLD,
MOST MINNESOTANS DIDN'T KNOW HER
NAME UNTIL ABOUT A MONTH AGO.
SO WHO IS JAN MALCOL?
IN THE 1970s SHE ATTENDED MIN
HONKA HIGH SCHOOL THEN MOVED ON
TO DARTMOUTH, GRADUATING WITH
DEGREES IN PSYCHOLOGY AND
PHILOSOPHY.
PHILOSOPHY. FOR SEVERAL YEARS SHE WORKED FOR
HMOs AND AS AN ADJUNCT FACULTY
MEMBER AT THE U OF M SCHOOL OF
PUBLIC HEALTH.
PUBLIC HEALTH. IN 199 A CERTAIN PRO WRESTLER
BECAME GOVERNOR OF MINNESOTA.
>> ONE OF MY FRIENDS SAID IF
YOU'RE SO WORRIED ABOUT WHAT
HE'S GOING TO DO, WHY DON'T YOU
TRY TO HELP HIM?
>> Reporter: SO SHE DID,
SUBMITTING HER APPLICATION FOR
AND BECOMING MINNESOTA'S HEALTH
COMMISSIONER.
COMMISSIONER. >> I HAVE NO IDEA WHY HE CHOSE
ME.
ME.
ME. I'M
ME. I'M GRATEFUL HE DID BECAUSE IT
WAS ABSOLUTELY THE EXPERIENCE OF
A LIFETIME.
A LIFETIME. >> Reporter: AFTER HER FIRST
STINT AS COMMISSIONER, SHE
SERVED AS CEO OF THE COURAGE
CENTER -- A NONPROFIT
REHABILITATION CENTER FOR PEOPLE
WITH DISABILITIES.
WITH DISABILITIES. THEN SHE BECAME PRESIDENT OF THE
COURAGE KENNY FOUNDATION.
IN 2018, SHE GOT THE CALL BACK
TO PUBLIC HEALTH.
GOVERNOR MARK DAYTON ASKED HER
TO TAKE THE HELM OF A TROUBLED
HEALTH DEPARTMENT AWAUSH IN
COMPLAINTS ABOUT ELDER ABUSE IN
LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES AND
FACING AN OPIOID EPIDEMIC.
SHE AGREED.
SHE AGREED. WHEN GOVERNOR WALLS TOOK OFFICE,
MALCOLM STAYED AT HER POST AND
NOW STANDS BY HIS SIDE EVERY DAY
AT 2:00 TO HELP EXPLAIN TO