As COVID-19 restrictions begin to lift in MN, concern lingers over variants

A woman wearing a mask stands in a room amid spaced-out folding chairs
Program coordinator Ashley Jude expected to see more than 50 people come visit CentraCare’s mobile COVID-19 vaccination clinic April 7 at First Presbyterian Church in Foley, Minn.
Paul Middlestaedt | MPR News

Capacity limits and mask requirements start lifting Friday across Minnesota. It's a sign we're inching closer to a pre-pandemic normal, at least to some degree, but we're not yet out of the woods with COVID-19.

Identifying and tracking variants of the virus will be a key part of the state's strategy for keeping infection levels in check over the coming months. For more on how that process works, MPR News host Cathy Wurzer talked with Dr. Bobbi Pritt, chair of Clinical Microbiology at Mayo Clinic.

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