MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota’s lawmakers paid tribute to first responders and health care workers on the front lines of the battle against the coronavirus by passing legislation to ensure they all qualify for workers compensation if they catch it.

The House passed the bill 130-4 and sent it to the Senate, which sent it to Gov. Tim Walz on a unanimous 67-0 vote. The governor told reporters he expected to sign the bill Tuesday night.

“Our front-line workers are putting themselves at risk simply by going about their jobs everyday” said Sen. Gary Dahms, R-Redwood Falls. “I rest easier knowing that if a major surge of COVID-19 cases occurs in the next couple of weeks, they and their families will be protected.”

In a surreal scene, the House chamber was almost empty except for a handful of lawmakers and staffers. Some wore masks and they sat far apart to ensure social distancing. Most representatives joined by phone, including some who drove to St. Paul and participated from their cars to ensure that the House met the constitutionally required quorum of 90 “at the seat of government” — meaning in the capital city. Few senators wore masks, but the chamber was similarly close to empty, with most members voting remotely.

Minnesota’s workers compensation laws normally require an employee to prove they got sick or were injured on the job. The legislation changes that requirement for first responders and health care workers, as well as child care workers who serve the families of front-line employees.

“It will be very difficult for some of our first responders to be able to establish exactly how they got COVID-19, but we know they’re at much higher risk for contracting this disease because of the work that they’re doing for us,” Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman said on a conference call with reporters. “They are putting themselves on the line out there.

” Under the new rules, a doctor’s diagnosis of COVID-19 without a test to confirm it would be acceptable. People on the front lines in this pandemic need to have the support of all of us,” Democratic House Majority Ryan Winkler said.

Hortman and Winkler acknowledged that changing the rules is likely to impose new costs on the workers compensation system, that they don’t know how many claims will be filed, and that lawmakers have yet to figure how they’ll pay for it. They’re hoping to use some of the $2.1 billion that Minnesota is getting in federal stimulus money to cover part of the new costs.

President Donald Trump has issued a disaster declaration for Minnesota as the state combats the coronavirus outbreak.

Walz had asked Trump to issue the declaration to allow federal funding to flow to the state. Minnesota’s congressional delegation had urged the Trump administration to approve the request.

The Legislature is next scheduled to meet April 14.