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If you’re headed to an indoor sports game or a restaurant in Minneapolis or St. Paul, soon you’ll need to bring your COVID-19 vaccine card or a negative test taken within 72 hours. Establishments serving food and drink indoors in the Twin Cities, including bars, restaurants, theaters, sports and entertainment venues, bowling alleys, and convention centers, will need to require proof of vaccinations or negative tests, in an effort to slow the fast-spreading omicron variant.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter announced the new measures during a press conference on Wednesday. The temporary mandates go into effect beginning January 19. Both policies will be reviewed within 40 days.
"The surge in COVID cases across our city is causing pile-ups in testing sites and is overwhelming our hospitals and our health care workers, and the data is exceedingly clear that more is needed to keep our city safe while we weather this highly contagious variant,” Mayor Frey said. "To reiterate: This policy is temporary, but in the meantime I recognize that this does in fact add another layer of responsibility for our local businesses and restaurants who have bore the brunt of the challenges we have faced through this pandemic. And I can't emphasize this enough: This is a critical next step to avoid closures. We want to stay open and we need to stay safer."
More than 75 percent of Twin Cities residents over 5 years old are vaccinated already. For people who have not been vaccinated, the policies will require verifiable PCR lab and antigen tests. Rapid at-home test kit results are insufficient. Physical vaccine cards, a photo of a vaccine card, the docket app, or other third-party apps that store vaccine records are all acceptable forms of proof.
"We're not helpless against the ongoing impacts of COVID-19," Mayor Carter said. "Together we can help prevent the spread and ensure that we can all be a part of the solution of fighting back to reclaim those aspirations we have for our community. It requires us all to do our part."
The requirements extend to any individual who can be vaccinated, which currently is anyone who is at least 5 years old. Both orders exempt kids under five. The temporary mandates do not apply to retail and grocery stores, schools, hospitals, nursing homes, or the skyways. In St. Paul, the restrictions only apply to businesses licensed by the city.
“Minneapolis is only back to about half of seated diners from pre-pandemic levels after more than 1,700 businesses had to close in 2020,” said economic policy and development director Erik Hansen in a statement. “We have to learn how to operate during the pandemic. This regulation helps to protect the health of business owners, workers and patrons alike while keeping restaurants and other places that serve food and beverages open throughout our city.”
U.S. cities that currently require proof of vaccination to dine indoors include New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Several restaurants, theaters, and venues in the Twin Cities already require vaccine proof or a negative test.
“Our community transmission rate now exceeds 1,300 people infected per 100,000,” said interim health commissioner Heidi Ritchie in a statement. “This is in contrast to a rate of just over 300 cases per 100,000 in mid-December. The high transmissibility of the omicron variant has led to record-level case rates, a surge in hospitalizations, and a crisis in the healthcare system. Today’s announcement is another step to building an immunity wall in our city.”
Last week, both Minneapolis and St. Paul reinstated mask mandates for public indoor areas. Gov. Tim Walz has said he will not issue a statewide mask mandate, and said last year that he does not intend to start a vaccine passport system for Minnesota.
