An organization representing Minnesota’s hospitals and health care systems is calling for a statewide mask mandate.
In a letter, the Minnesota Hospital Association President and CEO asks Gov. Tim Walz to enact the mandate because “we have a narrow window of time to slow the spread of the virus.”
Dr. Rahul Koranne writes universal mask usage can help Minnesota avoid the surges seen in other states, adding that, while “asking Minnesotans to mask up in summer is hot, uncomfortable and unfamiliar,” masks are a “small act by every Minnesotan (that) supports us and protects others while we navigate learning to live with this virus until there is a vaccine.”
Walz this week repeated that the mandate is an ongoing conversation.
“We’ve been wearing and thinking about masks since the end of March,” he said Tuesday. “We’ve been trying to understand that this is the cheapest, easiest way, and the science behind it is getting stronger. Not only are they saying — there’s a new study that came out today — it lessens your chance of getting it, not just spreading it to someone else. What we’ve tried to get is social buy-in."
New York this week added Minnesota to its growing lists of states whose travelers must quarantine upon arrival based on its rolling seven-day average positivity rate.
A study by Goldman Sachs cited by Walz found Minnesota had the lowest self-reported mask usage among larger states in the U.S. More than half of states have a mask mandate in place including recently Arkansas, which has a Republican governor.
Read the letter here: