Minnesota Hospitals are asking Gov. Walz for Statewide Mask Requirement

The Minnesota Hospital Association sent a letter to Governor Tim Walz asking him to require face masks statewide.
In the letter, signed by Rahul Koranne, M.D. President and CEO of the Association, he says, " We have a narrow window of time to slow the spread of the virus, so we are asking you to mandate the wearing of face masks statewide as soon as possible."

The Governor is getting pressure and support for a statewide mask mandate from retailers, doctors, and many more groups around the state.

The letter goes on to address why the statewide mandate is important saying, "Taking this action universally, rather than city by city or business by business, is important. If all Minnesotans double down and wear masks every time we are in public indoor places and outside when we cannot be physically distant from others, we can continue to flatten Minnesota’s curve and avoid the overwhelming hot spots and surges we are seeing in other states."

Several cities around the state have passed their own face mask requirements including Duluth, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester, and a few others.

The Governor admits that the option is on the table, but would like to get some more support from a variety of lawmakers before going ahead with the statewide order. He and the health officials are urging the public to wear masks when in public indoors.