Masks recommended, not necessarily required, in schools and surge areas
Jul. 29—MANKATO — After new federal guidance came out this week, Minnesota health officials Wednesday recommended masks be worn in schools and areas where COVID-19 cases are surging.
The recommendations come in response to rising cases of the concerning delta variant, largely being spread by people who can't or refuse to get vaccinated. And unlike earlier in the pandemic, the choice of whether to require face coverings as a way to limit further spread will be up to local authorities instead of the state.
The renewed call for indoor face coverings from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Minnesota Department of Health applies to people who've already been vaccinated — unvaccinated people already were advised to mask up.
While vaccinations significantly decrease a person's chances of being hospitalized or killed by COVID-19, new information shared Wednesday suggests fully vaccinated people can spread it to others. Delta is responsible for much of the uptick in cases both in Minnesota and the south-central region in recent weeks.
"The speed of case growth is truly concerning," said Minnesota Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said at a news briefing.
Recommendations on face coverings in schools are fairly clear cut. The health department is urging them for everyone in kindergarten through 12th grade, but the decision will be up to each school district.
Previously, Gov. Tim Walz's state emergency order granted him authority to mandate face coverings. The emergency order ended in May.
Outside of schools, people in counties experiencing "substantial transmission" are also recommended to wear masks regardless of their vaccination status. The CDC defines substantial transmission as rates of infections at or above 50 per 100,000 people or test positivity rates above 8% over the last seven days.
Waseca County was among the few Minnesota counties to be above the threshold this week. The county is relatively small, however, making fluctuations in its rate more likely from one week to the next.
New case counts aren't spiking in the county. The uptick is more gradual, about three more cases between the most recent week and the prior week.
Waseca County Public Health Director Sarah Berry said in an email that the agency isn't recommending any changes to mask recommendations at this time. The current guidelines call for unvaccinated people to mask up along with some others.
"We do strongly encourage those who are not vaccinated as well as those who work closely with them to use face coverings to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and protect their neighbors," Berry said.
The county will continue to monitor case rates and vaccination rates. Berry encouraged county residents to get vaccinated, with the county having about 46.2% of its total population vaccinated with at least one dose as of Wednesday's state update.
New information shows people infected with the delta variant can have high viral loads so that even fully vaccinated people carrying delta could spread it to others, said Kris Ehresmann, the state's infectious disease director, told reporters in the briefing.
Follow Brian Arola @BrianArola
