Gov. Tim Walz. File photo,
(Jake Judd, KNSI) – Workers for the State of Minnesota will be required to get vaccinated or submit to regular COVID-19 testing.
State agency employees working in person will be required to show proof of vaccination by Wednesday, September 8th. Employees who are not vaccinated will be required to receive a negative COVID-19 test at least once a week to work on-site at all public workplaces around the state.
Governor Tim Walz announced the mandate on Wednesday afternoon. He stated the vaccine requirement is to protect Minnesota workers and families from COVID-19 and prevent the further spread of the virus and its highly contagious variants.
According to the governor’s office, new cases are up 574% per week from one month ago and are nearly entirely driven by the Delta variant. The governor says the variant makes up 90% of cases sequenced in Minnesota.
Officials say the majority of cases are among unvaccinated Minnesotans. Less than 0.2% of fully vaccinated Minnesotans have tested positive for COVID-19.
In Minnesota, employers including Mayo Clinic, Allina Health, M Health Fairview, and Sanford Health require employees to be vaccinated. Nearly a dozen of Minnesota’s colleges and universities require their employees and students to receive the vaccine before returning to campus. Major national companies like Tyson Foods, Microsoft, United Airlines, and Disney will require employees to submit proof of vaccination before returning to work.
At least seven states have instituted vaccination requirements for public employees.
The Biden Administration has instituted a vaccination and testing protocol for 4 million federal workers and on-site contractors and mandated vaccinations for Defense Department service members and Veterans Affairs healthcare personnel.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 72.8% of adults in Minnesota have at least one dose. The state leads the Midwest, with 54.3% of our whole population having completed their vaccine series.
Minnesotans who get their first dose of vaccine through August 15th can receive a $100 Visa gift card.
