Walz: Stay Home Order Will End Monday, Bars Could Reopen June 1

TWIN CITIES, MN — Citing progress made to prepare for the peak of infection, the Gov. Tim Walz announced he would let the current Stay Home expire Monday. Gatherings of friends and family of 10 people or less will now be allowed.

Walz will also open retail stores and other main street businesses if they have a social distancing plan and operate at 50 percent occupancy.

"Minnesotans, thank you for your continued sacrifices," Walz stated Wednesday evening. "You have saved thousands of lives. You successfully pushed out the peak of this virus and bought our state time to get ready to treat those who fall ill. We know there’s no stopping the storm of COVID-19 from hitting Minnesota, but we have made great progress to prepare for it."

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When the Stay Home order ends on May 18, Walz says he will be replacing it with a new order that brings back more social interactions.

"Stay Safe MN"

Titled "Stay Safe MN," Minnesotans will still be asked to stay close to home and limit travel to what is essential. But the order will allow gatherings with friends and family in groups of 10 or less with social distancing. In all cases, Minnesotans are asked not to gather in large groups.

All gatherings are limited to 10 and social distancing with masks, hand-washing and other safety measures should be followed to protect each other, Walz's office said.

Retail reopening

An additional executive order announced Wednesday will allow retail stores, malls, and main street businesses to reopen for in-person shopping as long as they have a COVID-19 Preparedness Plan in place that incorporates social distancing protocols for workers and customers and limits occupancy to no more than 50 percent of the establishment’s occupant capacity.

The Department of Employment & Economic Development estimates that this action will enable up to 37,000 more workers to safely return to work over the next several weeks.

Bars, restaurants, barbershops, and salons could reopen June 1

Walz also announced that he is directing his cabinet to assemble similar guidance on how to safely reopen bars, restaurants, barbershops, and salons beginning June 1. This will coincide with a significant increase in testing, tracing, and isolating the virus in the state, according to a news release.

Peacetime emergency continues

Walz has also extended his peacetime emergency authority until June 12.

Extending the peacetime emergency in Minnesota allows the governor to "keep his toolbox open so he can take critical, swift action to protect Minnesotans," Walz's office said. "Being in a peacetime state of emergency has allowed Minnesota to: enhance protections for veterans in our veterans homes; activate the National Guard to assist in relief efforts; provide economic relief and stability to those impacted by the pandemic; and more."

Restrictions could be re-imposed

Walz announced a preliminary set of health indicators that could trigger a decision to re-impose restrictions to slow the spread of the virus. These indicators will be refined over time as we learn more about the virus and the course of the pandemic in Minnesota. They include the number of COVID-19 tests that can be conducted as well as the rate of increase in:

• Number of new COVID-19 cases
• Percent of COVID-19 tests that are positive
• Percent of COVID-19 cases for which the source of infection is unknown