Minnesota’s mask mandate is no more.
“It’s a good day, it’s one more sign of a back to normalcy,” said Governor Tim Walz.
Gov. Tim Walz recently signed the executive order ending the mandate following updated CDC guidance, which said fully vaccinated people can forgo masks in most indoor and outdoor settings.
However, masks will still be a very common sight in many businesses and cities.
“There will be decisions that can be made by local businesses and jurisdictions, especially health care settings, people will continue to mask in some of those settings,” said Walz.
The move comes as vaccinations for those 65 years of age and older is nearing 90%. And over 61% of those 16 years of age and up have received at least one vaccine dose. Health officials would like to see that increase to 70% by the end of June.
“Those of you who are not vaccinated, Now is the perfect time to get vaccinated. You can go without a mask,” said Walz.
Minnesota Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said she had mixed feelings about the end of the mask mandate, with equity gaps for those who have been vaccinated and the fact that there are still people at risk. More on that and attempts to address the equity gaps in a future update.
Experts Say Herd Immunity is Now Unlikely