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ST. PAUL, Minnesota (FOX 9) – Minnesota Governor Tim Walz announced significant new COVID-19 restrictions on bars and restaurants, weddings and funerals, and private gatherings in a live speech Tuesday. Most restrictions will go into effect at 10 p.m. Friday.
The new restrictions come as Minnesota experiences a statewide COVID-19 explosion, with the daily number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths at their highest level since the start of the pandemic. The restrictions are designed to target the spread of the coronavirus in young adults, who make up the largest cluster of COVID-19 cases and often have mild or no symptoms.
“We have to act now. It has happened incredibly quickly,” Walz said.
Retailers, gyms and schools will not be affected by the new restrictions.
“Where do young people between the ages of 18 and 35 congregate?” Walz told reporters Monday at the Minneapolis Convention Center, which is home to the state’s newest saliva testing site. “It makes sense for us to target these in a much more surgical and aggressive manner than a statewide home stay order.”
Bars and restaurants
Under the new restrictions, bars and restaurants will be required to end food service at 10 p.m., although take-out and delivery services will still be permitted after that time. Indoor capacity will be capped at 150 people and may not exceed 50% of capacity.
No table or bar service will be allowed. Bars and restaurants that only have counter service can still have customers lined up with masks and then returned to their tables.
No bar games requiring standing, such as darts and billiards, will be permitted.
Outbreaks in bars and restaurants increased in October, according to data provided by the State Department of Health showing 57 such outbreaks in October after just 18 the month before.
Defending his decision, Walz says Minnesota contact tracers are finding “at least a doubling” of infections in bars after 9 p.m.
Weddings and funerals
Weddings and funerals will be limited to 50 people starting November 27. This limit will eventually be lowered to 25 people on December 11.
Receptions and similar events will not be permitted between 10 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Private meetings
The new restrictions also apply to private gatherings. As of Friday, there will be a 10-person limit for indoor and outdoor gatherings and all social gatherings will be limited to three households or less, including the host.
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The governor also said on Monday that state officials would soon deploy a cell phone tracker designed to alert people when they are near someone who tested positive. A person who tested positive would receive an alert, allowing them to warn everyone – anonymously – who are within six feet of them. The person can refuse to send the message and the recipients will not be able to see who has tested positive.
Walz said it had been “quite successful” in other countries that have used the technology, and said it would be “completely anonymous” to avoid privacy concerns.
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