Gov. Walz to decide on lifting ‘stay-at-home’ order this week

Gov. Tim Walz’s stay-at-home order is set to expire May 4, and he is expected to decide whether or not to extend it sometime this week.

Schools have been closed for the remainder of the academic year, and restrictions on restaurants, bars, and other entertainment venues—or gathering areas deemed “less predictable” on social distancing measures—are expected to remain in effect for some time.

On Monday, around 20,000 industrial and office-based businesses that don’t interact with customers were allowed to reopen, according to the Pioneer Press. The lift on restrictions for these nonessential businesses included an expectation that social distancing will be maintained and other “steps to prevent the spread of the coronavirus among co-workers” will still be taken.

The Center has recently launched a new initiative, Back2WorkMN.com, to urge Gov. Walz and state leaders to allow the current stay-home order to expire on May 4 as planned, and to provide citizens, businesses, and workers with the necessary tools and guidelines that will allow us to safely get back to work. Make your voice heard here by sending a letter to Gov. Walz and your legislators—let them know we can trust Minnesotans to earn an honest living and protect ourselves and others from COVID-19 without a statewide stay-home mandate.