Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is preparing to reopen gyms and fitness centers statewide, as well as allow the resumption of youth and high school sports, according to WCCO Radio political insider Blois Olson.
Olson told WCCO's Dave Lee during the WCCO Morning News on Friday that the announcement will come Monday, coinciding with the Minnesota Legislature's special session.
"My sense is that gyms will have some ability to open and my sense is that Governor Walz will give some guidance on youth sports," Olson told Lee. "I just don't know the dates yet and frankly I think the Go to reopen and that there will be guidance on youth sports," Olson told Lee. "I am just not sure on dates yet."
Gov. Walz's four-week "dial-back" Executive Order went into effect on November 21 restricting bars, restaurants, holiday gatherings, youth sports, gyms and fitness clubs.
That Executive Order is set to expire Friday, December 18 at 11:59 p.m.
"If we continue to decline in our cases the way that we rose up, we will get back to October case levels by January 4," Olson said. "If you start to think about that, if Governor Walz reopens, we have the holidays and we could have another big surge in January. I think how to reopen is what they are weighing."
Health officials are still working to realize the impact that the Thanksgiving Day holiday had on COVID-19 numbers
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The Minnesota Department of Health reported 89 deaths from COVID-19 on Thusrday with 3,523 new COVID-19 cases.
Walz's restrictions on youth and high schools sports instantly received heavy criticism statewide.
A nonprofit organization called Let Them Play MN, which has over 23,000 members in its Facebook group, announced they are suing Walz to end the sports pause.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court.
"We are just asking Governor Walz and those involved in this process to supply us the data that would really prove and show us why this shutdown happened in the first place," said Dawn Gillman, a Dassel-Cokato football mom and the Facebook group's founder. "We believe once the full data and picture is revealed that they would see what we're all seeing. The risk is low, to none, for students to participate in youth sports."
The lawsuit states that Governor Walz's shutdown is "not based on science" and uses favored, relaxed criteria for collegiate and pro sports to continue playing.