Personal experiences reshape COVID-19 protocols for some, public health supervisor says

Numerous public health officials across Minnesota, including in Cook County, expressed a belief in late December that a driving factor behind slowing the spread of COVID-19 in recent weeks is directly tied to personal experience.

Cook County Public Health Supervisor Grace Grinager said during a Dec. 28 interview on WTIP that as the pandemic continues through the holiday season many Minnesotans are having or have had personal experiences with the virus. As the pandemic rolls toward 2021 more people have friends, family members or direct connections to people who became sick or even died from COVID-19, according to public health officials.

Grinager acknowledged that personal experiences with the virus presented new realities for people who initially were hesitant to embrace some of the best practices that public health officials encouraged throughout 2020, including social distancing and wearing a mask while in public.

Listen to the audio below to hear more on this topic and other local COVID-19 news and information in Grinager’s final WTIP update for 2020.