Masks ON Is Still the Rule In Rochester and Olmsted City / Government Buildings

A message from Olmsted County and the City of Rochester, Minnesota reminds us, masking is still required in a few parts of Rochester.

"Olmsted County and the City of Rochester are still requiring masks to be worn in city and county government buildings and facilities until further notice."

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 What's the Deal? Other Places Are Not Requiring Masks.

Why are they still requiring masks in these spaces as other places around Minnesota aren't requiring Covid masking?  Last Friday, the CDC announced low, medium, and high transmission based on three measures. Because of those classifications, Olmsted County is classified as having “High” community transmission.

Three CDC Measures for Low, Medium, and High Transmission

The CDC is looking at new COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 population in the past seven days, the percent of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients, and total new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population in the past seven days.

Olmsted County Administrator Heidi Welsch said,

“The good news is that our county’s numbers are trending downward, and we are anticipating a change in Olmsted County’s classification soon. We will continue to closely monitor the CDC’s classification of our community and communicate any changes to masking requirements when applicable.”

According to a press release,

The two hospital-related measures assess the current potential for strain on the health system. Data on new cases acts as an early warning indicator of potential increases in health system strain in the event of a COVID-19 surge.

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A Sampling of Community Levels Around Minnesota -

High

• In Blue Earth County, Minnesota, community level is High.
• In Freeborn County, Minnesota, community level is High.
• In Mower County, Minnesota, community level is High.
• In Wabasha County, Minnesota, community level is High.
• In Koochiching County, Minnesota, community level is High.

Medium

• In Goodhue County, Minnesota, community level is Medium.
• In Hennepin County, Minnesota, community level is Medium.
• In Otter Tail County, Minnesota, community level is Medium.

Low

• In Lincoln County, Minnesota, community level is Low.

Click HERE to check level updates. It's a county-by-county drop-down menu.

As always, if you have a comment, complaint, or concern about something I wrote here, please let me know: james.rabe@townsquaremedia.com

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