Edina City Council Extends Mandatory Face Mask Order
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The Edina City Council agreed Wednesday to extend the city's mandatory face mask order.
The mayor of the southwest Minneapolis suburb signed an executive order last week requiring residents to wear masks inside retail establishments and city buildings.
The order requires all restaurants to include in their COVID-19 preparedness plan that all customers wear a face covering when not seated at their tables. Users of public transportation are also required to wear a face mask.
The city council has made some exceptions, such as masks do not need to be worn inside recreation centers, where social distancing can be maintained. Masks also don't need to be worn by people who are eating and drinking, or children under 5.
Health experts say that wearing a face mask helps curb the spread of COVID-19. Since the start of the outbreak, the disease has infected more than 36,000 people in Minnesota and killed 1,445.
The new order will be in effect until Gov. Tim Walz enacts a statewide order requiring face coverings, the state's peacetime emergency declaration ends, the city council rescinds order or Dec. 31 -- whichever comes first.