Minnesota COVID-19 briefing: Mask mandate compliance, tracking rising rates

Minnesota health officials provided the latest update on the state’s COVID-19 situation Monday afternoon.

Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Commissioner Jan Malcolm and Infectious Diseases Director Kris Ehresmann encouraged all Minnesotans to comply with the state’s mask mandate and to continue to social distance to help curb the spread of the virus.

Malcolm said they’re asking Minnesotans to wear a mask for the health and safety of their own family, friends and neighbors. Ehresmann said the impact of the mask mandate will likely take a full three weeks or more before it starts to show in the data MDH reports daily.

"If we all work hard and pull in the same direction and do our part to reduce COVID spread, which is in our power to do, we give our state, our community and our Main Street businesses the best chance to remain open and operating," Malcolm said.

Over the weekend, they said MDH received 80 complaints related to COVID-19, which is similar to what they’ve been receiving in past weeks. Those complaints can relate to masking, social distancing, overcrowding, etc.

Ehresmann also said they’ve heard of many people having graduation parties outdoors but said social distancing is still important outdoors. If there are too many people to keep six feet between everybody, she encouraged people to wear masks.

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Here are some other takeaways from Monday’s briefing:

• Ehresmann noted that as the average rolling infection rate and other indicators continue to climb, there may be a time the state needs to turn the dial back again. She said everyone obviously wants to keep restaurants and businesses open but if things continue trending in the wrong direction, it may be necessary to close things down again for a bit, which is why it’s so important for everyone to wear masks and social distance.
• Malcolm said the seven-day average rolling infection rate for Minnesota is at 4.8% as of Monday. The concerning level is anything above 5% while 15% is a problematic rate.
• Malcolm and Ehresmann said they hope the mask mandate will help reduce spread in Minnesota but they need people to be proactive and follow the guidelines to ensure that happens.
• While MDH’s main goal surrounding enforcement of the mask mandate is education and getting people and businesses to comply, they will use regulatory authority to enforce the mandate if necessary.
• With sports leagues starting up, many people have questioned how sports leagues can get players tested daily and get such quick results. Malcolm said those leagues have hired private firms to conduct their testing and ensure they get the results as quickly as they do. While it would be ideal for every person to be able to get tested and have results that quickly, Malcolm said there are many moving parts and many private sector reasons that make that difficult for a large, general population.
• On the topic of the upcoming school year, Malcolm and Ehresmann said they’re not necessarily nervous about the current situation in Minnesota in terms of children going back to school but said they’re more nervous about how the data continues to change on a weekly basis. They added that they know the value of kids being in school and said it’s fundamental to health, but said the COVID-19 situation in the state is one they’ll have to continue watching each week as the situation continues to evolve. However, they did say the next few weeks before school resumes are critical.

COVID-19 in Minnesota: 650 new cases, 2 additional deaths