City of Minneapolis issued the following announcement on March 10.
Today, Mayor Jacob Frey signed Emergency Regulation 2022-8, immediately lifting the City’s mask requirement for City employees and City-managed buildings. Visitors and employees in City-managed buildings are no longer required to wear a mask.
“We continue to make policy decisions based on current data,” said Frey. “Minneapolis is sustaining a downward trend in case and hospitalization rates, and the new CDC indicators reflect a low community level classification in Hennepin County. Thanks to the dedication of our employees, we’ve reached the necessary benchmarks to safely lift this requirement for our workforce and buildings.”
Rates in Minneapolis have been dropping rapidly, with a 7-day new case rate of 65.9 per 100,000 individuals (as of March 1, reported on March 8).
The City of Saint Paul will also lift its masking requirement today for City-controlled facilities.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued new community indicators to classify a community level as low, medium, or high. Based on those indicators, Hennepin County is in the low community level classification. The CDC has also provided guidance that at all levels, people can wear a mask based on personal preference, informed by personal level of risk and that people with symptoms, a positive test, or exposure to someone with COVID-19 should wear a mask.
The City of Minneapolis will continue to closely monitor the situation and will remain nimble if there is a shift in indicators such as case rates, percent positivity, hospitalization rates, and hospital bed capacity.
Vaccines continue to be the strongest defense against COVID-19. Minneapolis residents are encouraged to get vaccinated and can visit the City website to learn more about vaccine safety and to find a vaccine appointment. The City will continue to make masks available to businesses and organizations at no cost. Masks may be requested by emailing the City’s Health Department.
Original source can be found here.
