Larger group events ranging from high school proms to live Minnesota Twins Baseball can resume this spring under a rollback of COVID-19 restrictions announced Friday by Gov. Tim Walz.
While public mask wearing and social distancing requirements will remain in place in Minnesota, the state will permit in person work again, lift group sizes for worship service and permit up to 10,000 fans at the Minnesota Twins Home Opener on April 8th.
Walz said, “Minnesotans should continue to take simple steps to protect the progress we’ve made, but the data shows that we are beating COVID-19.
Many of the rollback features take effect at noon Monday, including an expansion that permits social gatherings of 15 people indoors or 50 people outdoors, with no limit on the number of households. Bars and restaurants will be able to operate at 75% of their indoor capacity and seat people in groups of four at bars, in addition to tables.
Seated indoor events, such as concerts, will be allowed starting April 1st for up to 3,000 people and unseated indoor events will be allowed for up to 1,500 people.
The move comes amid overall progress against the pandemic in Minnesota. More than 20% of Minnesotans have received COVID-19 vaccines, including more than 70% of senior citizens.