Minneapolis, St. Paul Issue Mask Requirements Inside City Buildings
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The mayors of Minnesota's two largest cities say that masks will be required for everyone in city-owned buildings and recommended in all indoor spaces starting Wednesday.
A joint release from Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter said they also "are exploring options regarding a vaccine requirement for City employees."
The release said Minneapolis has entered the "substantial transmission" category with a 7-day case rate of 78.6 new COVID cases per 100,000 people.
"Get vaccinated," Frey said. "Getting the vaccine will help protect you and your neighbors from a deadly virus, and it is the single most important action we can all take to curb the need for further restrictions."
The release states the Minnesota Department of Health will "revisit this recommendation in the coming weeks."
"This pandemic is far from over," Carter said. "These measures will help protect us as we continue our work to get our entire community vaccinated."
Hennepin and Ramsey counties, in which Minneapolis and St. Paul respectively reside, will also reinstate indoor mask mandates in county buildings. St. Louis County and the city of Duluth will enact similar policies.
Three key COVID metrics tracked by the state -- positivity rates, daily new cases per 100,000 residents and new COVID hospital admissions per 100,000 residents -- are now above the Minnesota Department of Health's line of caution.
