Minnesota mayor disputes harassment of COVID-19 survey team

A sample is taken from a woman at a free COVID-19 testing site, provided by United Memorial Medical Center, Sunday, June 28, 2020, at the Mexican Consulate, in Houston. Confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Texas continue to surge. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott shut down bars again and scaled back restaurant dining on Friday as cases climbed to record levels after the state embarked on one of America’s fastest reopenings. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The mayor of a southern Minnesota city is disputing state health department claims that a COVID-19 survey team was threatened there earlier this month.

State health officials on Friday reported cases of health workers being subjected to hostility – including racial slurs – in several Minnesota communities, as the teams surveyed households to collect data on how the virus is spreading. They were forced to end the survey early, officials said.

Minnesota Public Radio News reports that the mayor of Eitzen, one of the cities that was singled out, says he doesn’t believe the health department’s account of the episodes. Mayor Jeff Adamson adds that city leaders were never contacted about survey teams working in the community.

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