KSTP
Updated: April 08, 2020 03:17 PM
Created: April 08, 2020 09:46 AM
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced on Wednesday he will extend the state's ‘stay at home’ order to curb the spread of COVID-19 to May 4.
The order, which Walz put into place last month, was set to expire Friday.
“ What we are doing is working, Minnesota,” Walz said in a statement. “We are taking this seriously, and we are staying home. While Minnesota is showing lower rates of infections than our peers across the country, now is not the time to let up or allow that trajectory to change. Updated federal guidance and our own public health experts are showing that if we keep staying home, we will save lives — which is why I made the data-driven decision to extend the Stay Home Order until May 4.”
Walz said the extension of the order is forecasted to slow the spread of COVID19 and push out the peak of the disease, allowing the state to continue to prepare.
Under the order, Minnesotans are able to leave their homes for health and safety activities, outdoor activities, gathering necessary supplies, essential travel, the care of others and relocation purposes.
Essential workers are exempt from the stay at home order.
