County Employee Information on COVID-19

All county employees are encouraged to share this information in response to questions they may receive from clients or the general public. You may also proactively promote these health messages, as appropriate, within the scope of your work. This page will be updated on a regular basis with new information and resources. Please check back for the latest information.

Key resources

Medical Director Dr. Lynne Ogawa's messages for employees

Messages from County Manager Ryan O'Connor

County board meeting updates

Policies and procedures

Expense tracking

Finance has activated accounting codes for both purchases and personnel activity to track expenses related to coronavirus.

HealthPartners information

The information below is for employees enrolled in the county medical insurance plan through HealthPartners.

How to stay healthy

  • Wash your hands frequently with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds before eating, after using the restroom or after blowing your nose.
  • If you can’t wash your hands, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains 60-95% alcohol.
  • Try to avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
  • Cover coughs and sneezes.
  • Stay home when you’re feeling sick.
  • Avoid close contact with those who are sick.
  • Regularly clean and disinfect commonly touched surfaces in your home and workplace.

If you need care

If you think you may have acquired or been exposed to COVID-19, you can take a screening assessment online at virtuwell or Doctor on Demand. Both are available 24/7 at no cost to you.

If you have additional concerns, contact your primary care clinic.

As a HealthPartners member, you won’t have any out-of-pocket cost for administration of the COVID-19 laboratory test. (regardless of where the test is performed). You will also not have out-of-pocket costs related to an in-network office or urgent care visit associated with the test*. Coverage with no member cost sharing will not apply to an emergency room visit.

*If the test or office or urgent care visit is done out-of-network, coverage will be applied based on out-of-network benefits.

HealthPartners has also temporarily changed our early refill policy* due to the public health concerns caused by COVID-19.  We want to ensure our members have access to adequate medication by allowing for early refills.

*For Medicare members we anticipate this will in place as soon as possible.

Questions

Sign into healthpartners.com or call Member Services at the number on the back of your member ID card if you have questions about your coverage or where to get care.

Additional information on coronavirus is available at healthpartners.com/coronavirus.

Mental health 

Ramsey County is dedicated to putting residents first and we value our employees. All employees and anyone living at the same address has access to the employee assistance program. We know that COVID-19 has brought many disruptions to daily routines and has created a sense of uncertainty. Employees are encouraged to contact the EAP for additional support and resources. The program is available 24/7 and all inquiries are confidential. 

Social media guidelines

As the coronavirus/COVID-19 situation quickly evolves, please keep our social media guidelines in mind when sharing messages related to county programs and services on social media and other digital spaces

Read the social media guidelines