Gov. Walz announces limited reopening of restaurants, gyms, entertainment venues to begin June 10

Friday, Gov. Tim Walz announced Phase Three of the Stay Safe MN plan, which includes a gradual turn of the dial to allow the cautious and safe reopening of indoor dining, gyms and entertainment venues.

The phase will begin on Wednesday, June 10.

"We believe we should be able to handle this," Walz said. "We are going to make sure that we are not going to ask workers to go back into unsafe conditions."

Walz says customers and employees will be either strongly recommended or required to wear masks and will also be required to adhere to appropriate social distancing measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

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According to the governor's office, no businesses may exceed 250 people in a single self-contained space. All critical businesses are required to develop and implement a COVID-19 preparedness plan by June 29, and the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) and the Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) will provide industry guidance by June 15.

Phase Three of the Stay Safe MN plan goes as follows:

• Restaurants can begin offering indoor dining while maintaining social distancing, requiring reservations and seating no more than 50% occupancy. 
• Indoor social gatherings can take place with 10 people or less; outdoor social gatherings can take place with 25 people or less.
• Gyms, personal fitness and yoga studios, and martial arts may open at 25% capacity indoors and outdoors. 
• Indoor entertainment venues, such as theaters and concert halls, can open at 25% capacity. 
• Places of worship may open at up to 50% capacity.
• Recreational indoor entertainment venues, such as bowling alleys, arcades and museums may open at 25% capacity. 
• Personal services, such as salons, tattoo parlors and barbershops may open at 50% capacity while requiring reservations. 
• Outdoor entertainment venues, such as sporting events, concerts and theaters may open without exceeding 250 people in a single self-contained space. 

“We likely will be dealing with ongoing high levels of COVID-19 transmission for the months to come,” MDH Commissioner Jan Malcolm said. “We really have to learn to live with COVID-19 and to put COVID-19 in the perspective of other health concerns in our communities.”

Malcolm said case growth appears to have hit a plateau with small waves of growth and decline. It is too early to predict whether or when that pattern will change— be it a major peak or an overall decline, she added.

"We are moving those dials today to increase activity in our economy," said DEED Commissioner Steve Grove.

People who can work from home will still be encouraged to do so, Grove added.