Rochester's indoor mask order ends

Rochester’s citywide mask mandate expired overnight.

The indoor mask requirement had been in effect since Jan. 16 under an emergency order from Mayor Kim Norton.

The temporary order — which had support from the Rochester City Council, Mayo Clinic, and Olmsted County Public Health — was designed to curb the latest wave of infections due to the contagious Covid-19 omicron variant.

At the time, council members made it clear the order would be short-lived. With much of the country, including Minnesota, now past the latest peak of infections, the requirement was allowed to expire without much debate.

On Tuesday, however, Norton cautioned that while the mask requirement has ended, the rate of Covid-19 spread in the community remains high.

“Please wear a mask to protect yourself if you are unvaccinated, have concerning health conditions, or simply want to avoid getting sick,” Norton wrote on Facebook.

The latest data from the CDC shows there were 1,734 new cases in Olmsted County last week, a 50 percent drop from the previous seven-day period. Hospitalizations and ICU visits are also trending downward. Mayo models shows the decline in cases is likely to continue in the weeks ahead.

Sean Baker is a Rochester journalist and the founder of Med City Beat.