Minneapolis, St. Paul Lift Mask Mandates For City-Managed Buildings

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul announced Thursday the lifting of mask requirements at city-managed buildings.

This applies to both visitors and employees, and comes as COVID-19 cases continue to decline in the state.

"We are entering a new, promising phase of our recovery," St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter said. "While we still have work to do, I'm glad we are in the place to safely wind down emergency masking measures."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have classified both Ramsey County and Hennepin County as having low community COVID-19 transmission.

"We continue to make policy decisions based on current data," Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said. "Minneapolis is sustaining a downward trend in case and hospitalization rates, and the new CDC indicators reflect a low community level classification in Hennepin County. Thanks to the dedication of our employees, we've reached the necessary benchmarks to safely lift this requirement for our workforce and buildings."

Minneapolis also dropped the requirement of masks in park buildings. However, masks are still recommended.

In late February, the mask mandates were lifted in the Twin Cities for indoor spaces.