'I'm Happy That Minneapolis Is Doing This': Minnesota's Largest City Gears Up For Face Mask Requirement
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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Starting Tuesday, everyone will have to wear a mask or face covering when inside publicly-accessible buildings in Minneapolis.
WCCO visited several stores Monday, including a bakery, a smoke shop, a grocery, and a mattress store. And with all of them, whatever the owner's personal feelings on the masks, they plan to follow the rules.
Durango Bakery has masks available for sale as a way to comply with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey's emergency regulation.
"Nobody can buy if that person doesn't wear a mask," Durango Bakery employee Brian Joel said.
At Lowry Hills Liquors, they're ahead of the city. Manager Eric Wurst says no-mask-no service has been the norm for almost a week.
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"Spend two minutes in the store, it's really not that hard to wear a mask for two minutes. I wear it for eight hours a day," Wurst said.
Masks are for sale here, too, at $1 a pop. Minneapolis grocery store worker Faith Bichanga says she is in full support of the mask requirement.
"I'm happy that Minneapolis is doing this, for sure," Bichanga said. "I just appreciate the, you know, the willingness that people are able to put the masks on. I appreciate the businesses that are requiring people to wear the masks just for everyone's peace of mind."
The mayor has said the rule isn't about penalizing forgetfulness, but about cracking down on people with a blatant disregard for the health of the people around them. He says it would take an extreme case for someone to be charged with a misdemeanor.
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"There have been some people who are turned off by us even asking, but for the most part people have been good," Wurst said.
The regulation goes into effect Tuesday at 5 p.m. Minneapolis is not the first city to adopt this rule. Other states like New York, California and Illinois have similar regulations.
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