Lawsuit over correction’s handling of COVID-19 will proceed

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A Ramsey County judge has ruled a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota can proceed against the Minnesota Department of Corrections over its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Judge Sara Grewing ruled this week that all Minnesota inmates could be included in a class-action suit, and that Gov. Tim Walz and Minnesota Department of Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm can be added as defendants, WCCO-TV reported.

The lawsuit alleges that just one-fifth of Minnesota’s approximately 7,600 inmates have been fully vaccinated. Grewing will later decide whether or not the state’s inmate vaccination effort violated state law.