The Latest: DNR cancels 2020 fish egg-taking over virus fear

MINNEAPOLIS – The Latest on the coronavirus outbreak in Minnesota (all times local):

12:30 p.m.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has cancelled this year’s egg-taking for walleye, northern pike, muskies and steelhead because of concerns over spreading the coronavirus.

The agency says the work cannot be done safely under social distancing guidelines. According to the DNR, collecting eggs and sperm from spawning fish in the wild is labour intensive and requires teams of six to eight people working in close proximity.

The DNR looked at whether egg-taking could be re-engineered, but determined it was not possible to safely handle fish during the egg take and protect staff from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

The DNR collects fish eggs each spring to stock Minnesota waters that have low or no natural reproduction of those species. The agency says missing one year won’t hurt the fish population.

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6:05 a.m.

Twenty-three people have been charged with violating Minnesota’s stay-at-home order aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus.

In many cases, law enforcement officers added the misdemeanour charge as a secondary offence to another crime. Violating an emergency order is punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a maximum fine of $1,000, the Star Tribune reported.

Gov. Tim Walz began issuing executive orders relating to COVID-19 in mid-March, including one which told Minnesotans to stay home except to buy food and other limited reasons.

Among those charged is a Chaska man who allegedly arrived at a Roseville hotel to meet a prostitute he met online. Another involved a suspected drunken driver whose truck got stuck in a construction zone in Pine City. He fled on foot and tried to hide in a shed.

Walz and the Minnesota Department of Public Safety have encouraged education over enforcement of the order.