Mask mandate no longer in effect in Minneapolis

Alin Luna/Unsplash

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Mayor Jacob Frey signed an executive lifting Minneapolis’ local mask requirement earlier this June.

The mayor made the decision as COVID-19 cases continue to decline, with the seven-day rolling average of new daily cases per 100,000 regularly below 10 as the city vaccinated nearly 80% of its adult population.

Currently, 69% of all Minneapolis residents aged 15 and over are fully immunized.

The mayor reminds the people that this is only the beginning and promising to widen the reach to everybody, especially the minority community.

“After a thorough review of public health data, Minneapolis is reaching vaccination rates above the recommended threshold for safely lifting this policy - but it doesn’t mean the pandemic is over. Our team at the local level will continue working with trusted community partners and neighboring jurisdictions to expand our outreach efforts in BIPOC and immigrant neighborhoods,” said Frey.

The City’s Health Department will continue to emphasize equity and inclusion in its outreach efforts with an increased focus on providing vaccine education and access to Black, Indigenous, Asian-Pacific Islander, Hispanics, East African, and people of color. These efforts include:

• Free vaccination sites at public housing high rises
• Presentations and door-to-door outreach to nonprofits and community-based organizations on common questions and concerns about vaccines
• Regular email communication in English, Spanish and Somali to more than 8,000 licensed business owners inviting them and their staff to get vaccinated
• Vaccination education content on the city’s regularly scheduled cultural radio programs on KMOJ, La Raza (Spanish), KALY (Somali), and WIXK (Hmong)
• Partnerships with cultural community organizations to help distribute information to their community networks and serve as a sounding board for the information their communities need
• Health and Civil Rights departments are working together to develop and distribute information about workers’ right to sick time off for getting vaccinated

Regarding mask-wearing in the school area, masks will still be required for everyone inside schools as the State’s “Safe Learning Plan” remains in place until the last day of school.

Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS), and other local jurisdictions, may still set their own masking policies. MPS will announce its summer school plan for masks and other COVID-19 mitigation measures in the coming weeks.

Follow me to see more articles like this.

...

Follow