Minnesota state health officials said a coronavirus survey was halted after public health workers were harassed by residents who shouted "racial and ethnic slurs," the New York Times reports.
The Minnesota Department of Health, with support from the CDC, had been conducting a voluntary statewide survey slated to take place between Sept. 14 and Sept. 30. The survey's goal was to better understand the prevalence of COVID-19 in the state. Public health workers planned to visit 180 households.
But on Sept. 15 in Eitzen, Minn., a team of public health workers were surrounded by three men, one of whom was armed. The men used "racial epithets" and "refused to accept their identification as public health workers," Dan Huff, an assistant commissioner at the state health department, told the Times.
Jeff Adamson, mayor of Eitzen, told the Times that the men and another witness described the interaction as "fairly pleasant."
"We would like to make it clear there was never a gun or any weapon present, and no threats or aggressive behavior occurred during the interaction between the city members and the COVID-19 team," the mayor said in a written statement.
But a state health department spokeswoman said that they took the staff's report of the incident "very seriously, and [we] have no reason to doubt the details."
There have also been other incidents across the state, including ones in which residents followed workers, videotaping them and threatening to call the police, the Times reports.
Mr. Huff told the Times that "over the past week, a pattern emerged."
Teams of public health workers with people of color reported more incidents than those without.
Read the full article here.
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