Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has announced new COVID-19 restrictions that will impact social gatherings, restaurants, gyms and sports for four weeks.
The restrictions are in effect between Friday at 11:59 p.m. and Friday, Dec. 18. In-person social gatherings with people outside of your household are prohibited. Bars and restaurants will have to go take-out only. Gyms and entertainment spaces will need to close, and wedding receptions, private parties and celebrations will also be restricted. Adult and youth sports will be put on pause, but college and pro sports are exempt.
Schools will continue to operate under Walz’s Safe Learning Plan, which shifts students between in-person, distance and hybrid learning depending on the local spread of the virus.
Retail businesses and grocery stores will remain open at full capacity, while salons, barbershops and places of worship will stay open at half capacity.
All outdoor recreation areas like skating rinks, ski hills and parks can still operate, but their indoor areas will be closed.
Walz said that while the state has built up its bed capacity and supplies of personal protective equipment since the lockdown, doctors, nurses and other care staff are now increasingly falling ill because of community spread.
“I understand it’s not easy and it’s not fair,” Walz said. “But it’s a sacrifice that we need to make. If we don’t do that, and we continue to spread, we will with absolute certainty put our hospitals at risk, and those that need the care, as well as the care providers.”
Walz has said repeatedly that the decisions are based on data. Research shows that COVID spreads rapidly in places where people gather for extended periods of time, especially when they do not wear masks.
“I know the upcoming holidays make it incredibly difficult to stay home and stay apart, but this is how we keep the people we love safe and healthy,” Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan said. “Take it from me, no celebration is worth an empty seat that will never be filled.”
Originally, the restrictions began in March to prepare hospitals so that they could care for those ill with the virus. Now, months later, Walz says one of the major reasons for the new restrictions is because of the immense strain placed on health care workers.
Late Wednesday morning, Minnesota health officials reported 67 deaths due to COVID, and the state’s death toll crossed 3,000. The rate of hospitalizations has also never been higher; there were 27 hospitalizations per 100,000 residents as of Nov. 9.
It took 29 weeks to reach 100,000 infections in the state, and just six weeks after that to reach 200,000. The state projects it will hit the 300,000 case mark sometime next week.
“The velocity that this is moving now compared to any other time is simply stunning,” Walz said. “It would be easy to tell you this is going to be over but it is not. It’s going to be a very difficult four weeks.”
Walz also sent a letter Wednesday to Congressional leaders for federal aid.
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