According to Minnesota’s governor, who held a Tuesday press conference announcing that he has a plan to reopen the state which will be announced Thursday, the state should prepare for a “very normal” summer.
“We are going to, potentially by June, have 70 percent of our people, 12 or 16 and above – whichever is authorized by CDC – vaccinated, and that changes the entire calculus,” Gov. Tim Walz (DFL) said Tuesday. “At that point in time, as I’ve said, I think Minnesotans should start assuming that they’re going to have a very normal looking summer.”
WATCH: Gov. Tim Walz says he’ll announce a reopening plan for Minnesota on Thursday, and says summer could look “very normal.”
STORY: https://t.co/t6bpCvlmI2 pic.twitter.com/n2ESeBkSA6
— WCCO | CBS News Minnesota (@WCCO) May 4, 2021
Minnesotans have been eager to take the COVID-19 vaccine, compared to other states.
According to WCCO, nearly two million residents, or 59 percent, have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
Some restrictions still remain in place, and Walz did not allude to exactly what he will reveal Thursday. Still, in comparison to other states, Minnesota has been relatively less restrictive since about mid-March.
At that time, Walz announced that religious services and salons could operate at full capacity, while restaurants could operate at 75 percent capacity, and gyms at 50 percent capacity. During that phase of reopening, the state also began reopening entertainment venues, like sports stadiums, with occupancy rates between 25 percent and 50 percent.
Walz is straying from other Democrat governors, including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) in Michigan, another state in the upper Midwest.
Whitmer is expanding COVID-19 measures as cases surge in her state, last week ordering two-year-olds to wear masks, and releasing a plan to return to “normal,” that promised anything but normalcy.
In contrast to Walz, who says restrictions will be lifted when Minnesota hits a 70 percent vaccination rate, Whitmer said that when Michigan reaches the same percentage of vaccinated citizens, she will drop the state’s mask mandate and group gathering limits, pending caseload and hospital occupancy levels.
– – –
Pete D’Abrosca is a contributor at The Minnesota Sun and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
