A mask-wearing mandate for public indoor spaces will end no later than July 1 in Minnesota and COVID-19 restrictions on business capacities and gathering sizes will end by May 28 under a plan announced Thursday by Gov. Tim Walz.
The first step on Friday will include an immediate expansion on the sizes of indoor and outdoor gatherings, and an end to early closing times for bars and restaurants, but all such limits will be eliminated by May 28 ahead of the Memorial Day weekend.
The mask-wearing requirement could be lifted before July 1 if the state can increase the rate of Minnesotans who have received COVID-19 vaccine from 59% to 70%.
"As cases recede, more people get vaccinated every day, and vaccines are readily available to all who want it," Walz said. "We can now confidently and safely set out our path back to normal."
I'm guessing Gov. Walz hasn't been out and about much otherwise he'd know that Minnesotans decided earlier this year that they wanted a sense of normalcy, thus they charted their own path. There's been no clearer evidence than people swarming to many Twin Cities bars and restaurants given this is one area Walz has consistently bungled during the pandemic. Giving such venues 2-3 days notice on how long they can be open and with how many people hinders their ability to adequately prepare. They need a heckuva lot more lead time to order supplies, schedule employees for shifts, etc. As such, many of these establishments took matters into their own hands.
As for the mask mandate, that should, at minimum, be immediately lifted for people who are already vaccinated. During Walz's presser, he acquiesced to the fact that a fully vaccinated person has little chance to contract COVID. But even if a vaxxed individual does get the virus, he/she likely will not be hospitalized, with the chance of death being zero. I'm not certain why they're made to heed these silly mandates if they've done absolutely everything to protect themselves.
With things soon getting back to the way they were before the pandemic, it'll be interesting how this will impact the 2022 elections when Gov. Walz, all constitutional offices and the entire Legislature will be up for election. There's no doubt that Walz and his fellow progs will try to play up the fact that their handling of the virus "allowed" people to get back to doing things they enjoy. Meanwhile, those on the right have plenty of evidence to show how the adverse impact of the mandates (i.e. closed businesses, kids' educations suffering, etc.) will be felt well into the future.
Here's to the next 18 months!
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