From Bloomington and Brooklyn Park to Maple Grove and Minneapolis — and beyond — our neighborhoods and towns in Hennepin County embody a diverse and culturally rich community.
Our community is in the midst of the COVID-19 global pandemic: a highly infectious virus that spreads easily and puts us all at risk. While most people recover from this disease, people at high risk — older folks and those with underlying health conditions — are more susceptible to severe illness or death. Additionally, our Black, Indigenous, and People of Color community members are being disproportionately harmed by this disease.
Hennepin County’s primary public health goal is to slow the transmission of COVID-19, prevent suffering and death, and buy time until a vaccine is widely available. That’s why Take Care of Each Other provides knowledgeable guidance on COVID-19 precautions and calls on us all, from every belief and background, to meet this moment with compassion and care.
Everyone has a personal and valid reason for protecting themselves and their loved ones from COVID-19.
We've heard a lot about simple prevention steps that are effective in slowing the spread: wearing a mask, staying six feet apart, staying home when sick, and handwashing. And without a vaccine, this is still the best advice. We also know people are tired, worried, and feel the end of the pandemic is far away. It’s easy to get complacent and let your guard down.
But in this moment, our path back to normal is by taking care now: keeping ourselves safe, watching out for one another, and working together to slow COVID’s spread. For our sake. And for the sake of those we love.
In addition to COVID-19, we’ve endured much more these past few months, experiencing civil unrest in response to the killing of George Floyd and longstanding systemic racism, the political polarization of society, and learning how to work and learn from home. Through all of this and because of it, we hope to unify all people in Hennepin County to take heart and take care of each other.
We will take pride in our communities to empathize with our neighbors.
We will take action to bolster our commitments and inspire hope in those around us.
And we will take time to persist through the complications and hardships thrown our way.
In Hennepin County, we care for one another — we will take care of each other. Collectively and each in our own way, we can defeat COVID-19.
