Which cities and counties in the St. Cloud area have employee mask mandates?

Becca Most, St. Cloud Times
·3 min read

Last week St. Cloud-area officials declined CentraCare's request to implement a temporary mask mandate to slow the spread of COVID-19 and preserve hospital staffing levels, but chose to sign a joint statement encouraging residents to wear a mask indoors, get vaccinated and follow guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control.

State employees have had to wear masks in government buildings since August, and state employees working in person have had to get vaccinated or submit to weekly COVID testing since September.

Local counties and cities near St. Cloud have not required employees to get vaccinated or test weekly, but some have imposed employee mask mandates. Curious about which ones? We laid it out for you.

Signs highlight the mask policy during the first full day of school Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021, at Tech High School in St. Cloud.
Signs highlight the mask policy during the first full day of school Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021, at Tech High School in St. Cloud.

More: One-fourth of all CentraCare patients have COVID-19, ICU and critical care beds full

Benton County

Benton County signed the joint statement and approved a six-week mask mandate for their employees on Jan. 11. Employees must wear a face covering while at work, when operating vehicles on work time and when seeing clients offsite.

The mandate will go until Feb. 22, unless extended or rescinded by the county board, according to County Administrator Monty Headley.

Stearns County

Stearns County also signed the joint statement and approved an employee mask mandate that went into effect Jan. 10 with no set end date, but an expectation it will last at least five weeks, said county administrator Michael Williams.

More: As omicron surges, GSDC, CentraCare urgently request St. Cloud area residents to wear masks

Sherburne County

Sherburne County was the only area county that chose to not sign the joint letter at its meeting Tuesday, opting to write their own letter encouraging residents to mask, social distance, get vaccinated and wash their hands.

County board members at the meeting said they wanted to write a letter that cited Sherburne County-specific COVID data, rather than data from CentraCare. County administrator Bruce Messelt said the letter should be ready by the end of the week.

Sherburne County also chose not to enforce an employee mask mandate, but board members said at the meeting they will put up signage around county offices and encourage department heads to talk with staff about wearing a mask, ideally an N95 or KN95 mask.

Signs direct people to the vaccination clinic Friday, March 12, 2021, at Cash Wise pharmacy in Waite Park.
Signs direct people to the vaccination clinic Friday, March 12, 2021, at Cash Wise pharmacy in Waite Park.

St. Cloud

St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis signed the joint statement last week and said St. Cloud has not mandated employees wear masks, with the exception of those who are in direct contact with the public like inspectors.

St. Cloud has not imposed weekly testing, Kleis said.

More: Supreme Court blocks COVID-19 vaccine-or-testing mandate for workplaces but lets medical rule stand

Sartell

Sartell Mayor Ryan Fitzthum signed the joint statement last week and Sartell has no employee mask mandate or plan for weekly testing for employees, said City Administrator Anna Gruber.

Waite Park

Waite Park Mayor Rick Miller signed the joint statement last week and Waite Park instituted an employee mask mandate on Jan. 12. Miller said the city council will reassess the mask mandate in February, but he expected the requirement to last five or six weeks.

There is currently no plan in place for weekly testing for employees, and employees are encouraged to follow CDC guidelines and quarantine for 10 days if they have COVID, he said.

More: COVID omicron 'circulating like wildfire,' resulting in full hospitals and workforce issues

Sauk Rapids

Sauk Rapids Mayor Kurt Hunstiger signed the joint statement last week and Sauk Rapids has not mandated that employees wear masks or submit to weekly COVID testing, said City Administrator Ross Olson.

St. Joseph

St. Joseph Mayor Rick Schultz said he was not invited to sign the joint statement, but updated the city's website with information about COVID-19 as well as vaccination and testing resources.

Per the city's website masks are required to attend public meetings, but Schultz said the city is not planning to instate an employee mask mandate or weekly testing.

Becca Most is a cities reporter with the St. Cloud Times. Reach her at 320-241-8213 or bmost@stcloudtimes.com. Follow her on Twitter at @becca_most.

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This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Employee mask mandates are in these central Minnesota cities, counties