SEOC Actions
SEOC Supporting Local Emergency Managers
The State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) remains fully activated and staffed either physically or virtually by all state agencies and several volunteer organizations to keep Minnesotans safe and coordinate efforts to provide essential services and information during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gov. Walz Announces Timeline to End State COVID-19 Restrictions
Gov. Tim Walz has announced a three-step timeline to end nearly all state COVID-19 restrictions by May 28, and end the statewide masking requirement once 70% of Minnesotans age 16 years and older get their vaccine, or by July 1.
Step one takes place at noon on May 7. It includes initial steps to relax some restrictions, primarily in outdoor settings.
Removes limits for outdoor dining, events, and other get-togethers, and ends the mask requirement outdoors except at large venues with over 500 people.
Eliminates the state-established mandatory closing time for bars, restaurants, and food and beverage service at other places of public accommodation.
The second step begins on May 28. Remaining capacity and distancing limits will come to an end, including for indoor events and gatherings. The requirements that will remain include:
Face coverings indoors and for outdoor events that exceed 500 people.
There will be no new safety requirements for businesses, though they must maintain their plans to keep their employees and customers safe – as they have from the beginning of the pandemic – guided only by a minimal universal state guidance document.
The third step takes place once 70 percent of Minnesotans age 16 years and older – 3,087,404 Minnesotans – get at least one dose of the vaccine, but no later than July 1.
Because the youngest Minnesotans are not yet eligible for the vaccine, the
Safe Learning Plan for schools will continue until the end of the school year to protect students, teachers, and staff in schools.
Additional protections will remain, including the eviction moratorium, a ban on price gouging, and eligibility exemptions for people who receive state services. The State will continue its emergency efforts to get Minnesotans tested and vaccinated and will continue to monitor the virus and the growth of variants in the months to come.
Additionally, local jurisdictions and businesses may still require masks and have other requirements beyond July 1.
Minnesotans can visit VaccineConnector.mn.gov to make a vaccine appointment at a Community Vaccination Program site or use the Find Vaccine Locations map to locate a provider near them.
