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Analysis of COVID-19 data in Minnesota

COVID-19 in Minnesota

Citing improvements in case counts and hospitalizations, Gov. Tim Walz eased some COVID-19 restrictions on public gatherings Friday.

Effective Saturday at noon, Walz ordered:

“Our small businesses have made enormous sacrifices for the health of their employees and communities,” Walz said. “Today, we can make these cautious, common sense adjustments to support them because of the progress we have made controlling the spread of COVID-19 and getting the most at-risk Minnesotans vaccinated.” 

Some legislative Republicans criticized Walz for not giving them advanced notice of the changes and for not allowing businesses to fully reopen. 

"Today's news once again highlights the total disconnect between the Legislature and the governor,” said Rep. John Poston, R-Lake Shore. “Legislators have been pushing for weeks on this issue sending emails and letters to the Walz administration, pushing votes on the House floor, and raising the issue in the media. And we hear nothing. We get no feedback, no dialogue, no benchmarks. We're blindsided by news reports in the media instead of hearing directly from the governor or his agencies.”

Minnesota businesses that depend on weddings and other big gatherings have been hit hard by the state's coronavirus restrictions. In January Walz allowed gatherings to resume, but with strict limits on how many people could attend.

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Event venues, florists, bands and photographers have all been feeling the pinch from the limits, said caterer Maari Cedar James, who co-chairs the Minnesota Events Coalition.

“I know people are leaving the state, and that is the reason why we need to make a change and make some sort of a plan,” Cedar James said, adding that the higher guest limit will keep some people from moving their celebrations out of state. “It allows these significant life events to happen and for people to kind of move on with their plans at this point especially when they’ve planned and rescheduled things two to three to four times.”

“I am a COVID bride trying to get married,” said Meghan Everett. 

She and her fiancé will marry in Wisconsin before a couple of hundred people this summer.  They initially planned a wedding reception at a Minneapolis country club last September, then for this May at a country club in Eden Prairie. With the uncertainty about guest numbers in Minnesota, they decided to take their celebration elsewhere.

"So, we’ve been through the experience of rescheduling a wedding twice now, three different venues and just fingers crossed that we will be able to have our event in July,” Everett said.

COVID-19 crashes Minnesota wedding plans

Her mother, Mary Everett, who’s been deeply involved in Meghan’s wedding, said she's lost thousands of dollars in nonrefundable deposits and will spend thousands more transporting vendors to Wisconsin this summer.

Mary Everett said she thinks the Walz administration has given weddings a bad rap as COVID-19 superspreaders.

"As far as I'm concerned, he's being completely unfair to one industry when you have all [of] these other venues," she said.

State health officials defend their crackdown. They insist attending a wedding reception is far more likely to spread COVID-19 than eating or drinking at a bar or restaurant.

“When you attend a wedding often times it’s many people that you know,” said Kris Ehresmann, state infectious disease director.

“There’s more hugging,” Ehresmann added. “You don’t walk into a restaurant and give hugs to other patrons. In addition to the fact that the wedding ceremony is at a time that everyone attends, you all move together to a reception, so there are lots of things like that.”

What's feeding Minnesota's COVID-19 spread?

Cedar James, from the Minnesota Events Coalition, contends that allowing professionally managed events would actually improve public health.

“I know that there are people who are having events under the radar because of this 10 [person] cap,” Cedar James said. “If you open up that gap to a greater guest count, you have more likelihood of involving vendors who can help keep the events more safe.”

Still, Cedar James readily acknowledged the challenges of allowing large private gatherings, and said the Walz administration has done a good job of regulating private gatherings.

"They are getting a bad rap, and there is a lot of pressure on them,” Cedar James said. “From my perspective, they've done a fantastic job of communicating what their reasoning is behind keeping wedding restrictions so tight while opening up restaurants."

Meghan Everett said because she and her fiancé live in Chicago, the Wisconsin location is something of a halfway point between their friends in Chicago and those in the Twin Cities, so ultimately it will work well for her celebration.

“So that’s the silver lining for me,” she said. “It might not have been my plan A, but it’s a strong plan B.”

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Mark Zdechlik

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People planning wedding receptions and other group celebrations got some good news Friday when Gov. Tim Walz raised his limit on the number of people who can attend private indoor gatherings from 10 to 50. 

People planning wedding receptions and other group celebrations are likely to get some positive news Friday when Gov. Tim Walz is expected to raise his limit on the number of people who can attend private indoor gatherings from 10 to 50. 

Walz OKs more guests at weddings, private gatherings as COVID ebbs

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