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(FOX 9) – Days before a coronavirus outbreak in the Minnesota Senate Republican caucus, the GOP hosted a big in-person dinner to celebrate its election results.
A GOP spokeswoman confirmed the victory dinner on November 5 this weekend in response to FOX 9 questions about it. Republicans had not disclosed it before, even as controversy erupted over the epidemic. Spokeswoman Rachel Aplikowski did not explain why she had not revealed the party in previous public statements about the situation.
At least three senators, including Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, have now tested positive. Gazelka revealed his positive diagnosis on Sunday and said he was in quarantine while traveling out of state. Senator Dave Senjem told FOX 9 he tested positive last weekend. Senator Paul Anderson has also tested positive, Aplikowski said.
Republicans sent an internal memo on Tuesday warning staff members of the outbreak. Several senators and staff had tested positive, according to the memo.
But Democrats said the GOP never informed them of the COVID-19 outbreak before Thursday’s special session on Capitol Hill. Democratic Senate Leader Susan Kent said it was a “blatant disregard” for the health of other senators and Senate staff.
The GOP’s Nov. 5 dinner was held at a Twin Cities event center with between 100 and 150 attendees, most of them Republican senators, a source told FOX 9 on condition of anonymity.
Few of the attendees wore masks and the party lasted for hours, the person said. People were happy because the GOP retained the Senate with a slim 34-33 majority in the Nov. 3 election, the person said.
In response to questions from FOX 9, Aplikowski did not dispute the person’s account of the event. She did not say how many senators who attended the party then attended the special session in person seven days later, but said no one who tested positive attended the special session.
“I can tell you that the event took place under the guidelines authorized by the decrees at the time,” Aplikowski said. “Were there any guidelines that limited celebrations to household members or required that an event be limited to a certain number of hours at a time? I was not aware of any of these types of restrictions at the time of the event. ”
So far, Republicans have not disclosed the dinner, although they did reveal they held an in-person caucus leadership election the same day. Senjem said he was likely infected before attending this meeting, but was not showing any symptoms. He said he was tested last weekend after developing a mild cough.
Gazelka is in Florida and is not traveling under quarantine. He had no symptoms and was unaware of his exposure when he flew to Florida, Aplikowski said. In an emailed statement, Gazelka called for an end to Senate Republicans’ “blame and shame” for the outbreak.
On Saturday, Democratic Governor Tim Walz and Gazelka argued on Twitter over the GOP outbreak.
“I don’t understand why Senate Republicans have chosen to share positive cases only with members of their own party, putting staff and other senators at risk,” Walz tweeted.
Gazelka responded, “No DFL member was at our caucus meeting, and we followed (the Minnesota Department of Health) and CDC recommendations for social distancing, masks, and time limitation together for session so that no one is endangered. It’s time to stop blaming ourselves and politicizing this.
In her tweet, Gazelka did not mention dinner.
“Senate operations are an essential service and precautions have been taken to prevent the spread of covid; no one was more exposed than any other extraordinary session. The deliberate choice to use a covid diagnostic as a political tool to only blame Republicans when community spread is unchecked is a sign of failed leadership in search of a scapegoat. The Minnesotans deserve better. ”
As of Sunday morning, Minnesota health officials reported 7,559 new cases of COVID-19 and 31 other deaths. So far, the state has recorded a total of 223,581 cases and 2,905 deaths.
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