Outdoor dining, an optional return to in-person school for young kids in January as well as youth sports, and gyms reopening with masks required at all times: Gov. Tim Walz and health officials Wednesday detailed the measures loosened after the current pause expires Friday at midnight.
Community spread remains above 30 percent, but gains made with cases and hospitalizations since the November surge were enough to restore some activities.
“I didn’t say it’s not slowing down. I said when I showed the graph that we went from ‘really horrendous’ to just ‘horrendous,’” Walz said.
Asked about trade groups and small business protestations questioning how outbreaks can be traced to their industry, Dept. of Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said it’s about targeting an indoor setting where people are in close contact that’s shown to facilitate spread of the virus.
“We use this forest fire analogy a lot because it’s particularly apt,” Malcolm said. “In a forest fire it’s very hard to find the hotspot when everything is on fire.”
The announcement also affects Christmas and the holidays, and though indoor gatherings are not recommended, it does allow for one household to visit another with masks, distancing, and a short time encouraged. Youth sports can begin Jan. 4. Gyms can reopen at 25 percent capacity with 12 feet of space between clients and masks at all times.
Kindergarten through 2nd grade can come back the week of Jan. 18 while grades 3 through 5 can return at the start of February.
Districts are required to test teachers and staff every other week with supplies provided by the state. Masks will be worn by all and adults will double up with a face shield. Walz said the decision was made due to the low number of cases of severe illness in children…
“The value of not only academics in that classroom but the social-emotional learning, that is the safest and best place for many children to be, is in that classroom,” he said. “We have both the experience, the knowledge and the resources necessary.”
In a statement the state teachers’ union, Education Minnesota, called the plans “workable,” only with “strict enforcement” of safety measures as well as a “renewed commitment by all Minnesotans to slowing the spread of the virus in their communities.”
The entire executive can be read in full here.