Duluth's Mask Mandate Will Expire Saturday
DULUTH, Minn. (WCCO) -- Duluth's mayor announced Wednesday that the city's mask mandate will not be extended past its originally announced expiration, which is Saturday at 5 p.m.
Mayor Emily Larson said she made the decision to let it expire based on "conversations with health care providers and business groups and by tracking data from Saint Louis County, the State of Minnesota, and Mayo Clinic."
The mandate went into effect Jan. 14, and Larson said at the time it would last 30 days.
"As we lift this order, it's really important to remember that we are not done with COVID-19," Larson said. "This is still a dangerous time, and it's important to respect the choices of each workplace, business, and organization that are trying to work through the complications of operating amid a pandemic."
Larson added that her "personal feeling" is that "we are now moving into not how we beat COVID-19, but how we co-exist with it."
Minnesota's average positivity rate has been on the decline for some time now, though it's still above the high-risk threshold. On Wednesday, health officials reported 3,833 new cases of COVID-19 and 40 more deaths across the state.