Former state Rep. Nick Zerwas now loudest Republican urging Minnesotans to take COVID-19 seriously
After 5 days in ICU, former Republican lawmaker Nick Zerwas urges Minnesotans to take COVID seriously
Former Republican state representative Nick Zerwas is now one of the loudest voices from his party urging Minnesotans to take the coronavirus seriously after he spent five days in the ICU last week battling the disease.
(FOX 9) - Former state representative Nick Zerwas has recently become the loudest Republican voice urging Minnesotans to take COVID-19 seriously, stressing Tuesday that the virus is here and is not a political issue up for debate.
On a conference call with Gov. Tim Walz, Zerwas detailed his five-day stay in the ICU last week after contracting COVID-19.
“It happened so quickly and progressed so fast,” Zerwas said of his illness. The former GOP lawmaker has had multiple heart surgeries over his lifetime, resigning from the state Legislature last year after his most recent one to spend more time with his family and refocus his career.
Zerwas said he made “no less than a miraculous turnaround” after receiving convalescent plasma and remdesivir treatments.
Zerwas said he downplayed COVID-19 this summer because he knows no one in Sherburne County, where he lives, who had it. Now, he can name several people who have contracted the virus.
“This is a completely different ballgame,” he said. “Everything has changed. The virus is here. If we don’t act now, God help us.”
When asked what he would say to others in his party who have not changed their tune on the seriousness of COVID-19, Zerwas said, "There are days and there are times to find political issues in which to pick fights and debate about. What my hope and message today is that COVID isn’t one of them."
Zerwas’ comments come as Republicans in the state Senate are grappling with an outbreak of COVID-19 among their ranks. At least four GOP senators, including Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, have now tested positive for the disease.