State officials say at this point they will not re-impose mask mandates in any area of Minnesota, despite new CDC guidelines that recommend children and vaccinated people wear masks indoors. Specifically where COVID is surging due to the delta variant. Fourteen Minnesota counties fall in this category, but state Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm indicates it’s up to them:
“At this point in time, that would be a local governmental decision.”
However, if Governor Tim Walz were to re-declare a COVID emergency, the state could again have that authority. Such action does not appear imminent as health officials continue tracking the situation.
Health officials recently listed 625 new cases and four additional deaths. With those numbers introduced, the state’s totals show over 611,000 infections and about 7,660 deaths overall. About 3,139,861 people have received their first shot of the coronavirus vaccine so far.
