Gov. Tim Walz announced Tuesday afternoon another round of changes in Minnesota’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The changes were announced at a 2 p.m. press conference from the State Emergency Operations Center.

Social gatherings are to be limited to no more than ten people, indoors and outdoors. Gatherings are not to include members from more than three households at a time.

The new guidelines place restrictions on restaurants and bars, permitting dine-in customers only from 4 a.m. until 10 p.m., with 50% capacity and a limit of 150 people allowed inside the building at a time. Counter service will not be permitted, unless that is the only service offered by the establishment. 

Weddings, funerals and other similar events are held to the same time constraints as bars and restaurants. While actual wedding ceremonies have no change in capacity, receptions and other connected events will have a mandated capacity of no more than 50 people starting Nov. 27, and no more than 25 after Dec. 11. 

“Some of you have planned your weddings for six months or longer,” Walz said. “Our intention is not to make that difficult for you. It's to make that day special without having it marked by an outbreak of COVID.”

Data from the Minnesota Department of Health shows that 79% of cases associated with an “outbreak” stem from social settings such as weddings, funerals, private gatherings and restaurants and bars.

Walz said the restrictions are aimed at people ages 18-35, citing that this age group represents a large portion of positive cases in the state. While he did say that most young people are taking precautions, COVID-19 is “spreading like wildfire” and now has an increased danger. 

“Most bars and restaurants have done a great job responding to the pandemic and keeping their customers and employees safe,” Walz said. “This is not pointing fingers; this is not blaming.”

Community exposure without known contact with a positive case accounted for the majority of positive Minnesota cases on Nov. 11, with 42,016 cases citing this form of exposure out of 240,000 total infections. 

“We’re asking [young people] not to do the very fun things that make life enjoyable — and they’re doing it,” Walz emphasized, adding that asymptomatic spread is too high to ignore.

Walz cited a sharp increase in positivity rates across the state, noting that no corner of the state has avoided an increase in coronavirus cases.

“This is not a situation where we’re panicked,” Walz said. “But it is a situation that will change dramatically, and our ability to be able to deal with this will change very, very quickly.”

Walz claimed that Minnesota is in the top of the country in terms of testing.

“Almost all Minnesotans are now within 30 minutes of two options to test,” Walz said. “This is barrier-free, pain-free and cost-free.

Walz believes that Midwesterners were “lulled into a false sense of security” that the virus has a harder time spreading in more rural areas. Rural states such as North and South Dakota currently are widely considered to be two of the hottest states for the spread of the coronavirus.

Many have expressed concerns with rising COVID-19 cases in winter, with Walz confirming these concerns in today’s conference.

“The analogy I gave you back in March was that this was going to be a long, dark winter of COVID,” Walz said. “Unfortunately that has proven true.”

Though Walz noted that the state is seeing fewer hospitalizations and lower ICU-occupancy rates than originally projected, he stressed that Minnesota, and the Midwest as a whole, is also facing a potential shortage of healthcare personnel. 

“It is a statewide and nationwide shortage of healthcare providers,” Walz said. “We’re simply running out … of personnel.”

Hospital bed and staff availability may become a crucial part of the fight against the virus as flu season looms ahead.

“The first weeks of December tend to be the peak hospitalization periods for flu,” Walz said.

He noted that as of Tuesday, only four Minnesotans were currently hospitalized due to the flu, compared to 1,200 with COVID-19.

Walz called for Minnesotans to take “strong steps” to curve the spread ahead of the flu season.

“Masks work, social distancing works,” Walz said. “Making some of these smart choices will make a difference. It will save lives; it will keep people out of the hospital.”

Some government officials praised Walz’s decisions, while others voiced concerns over the impact on businesses and their employees.

“We’re very concerned for the impact this will have these businesses owners and their hardworking employees heading into the winter months, especially with just a few days to plan for the new restrictions,” Republican House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt said in an announcement following the press conference.

Walz announced a proposal to the Minnesota legislature to provide $10 million in small business relief grants to assist businesses throughout the state.

The governor signed Emergency Executive Order 20-96 on Tuesday to enforce the new rules, but a special session of the Minnesota legislature is expected later this week to consider the new grants.

Walz’s peacetime emergency powers are statutorily scheduled to end on Nov. 12, but an extension is expected.

Editor’s Note: The last sentence of this article could be interpreted to imply that these regulations could end on Nov. 12. It has been rephrased for clarity.