Agenda - Council Work Session - 09/22/2020

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STATE OF MINNESOTA Executive Department 0 Z4) Governor Tim Walz Emergency Executive Order 20-81 Requiring Minnesotans to Wear a Face Covering in Certain Settings to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19 I, Tim Walz, Governor of the State of Minnesota, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and applicable statutes, issue the following Executive Order: The COVID-19 pandemic continues to present an unprecedented and rapidly evolving challenge to our State. Since the World Health Organization characterized the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic on March 11, 2020, confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Minnesota have rapidly increased. On March 15, 2020, Minnesota detected the first confirmed cases caused by "community spread" infections not epidemiologically linked to overseas travel. By March 17, 2020, all fifty states had reported a confirmed case of COVID-19, and on March 21, 2020, the Minnesota Department of Health ("MDH") announced the first confirmed fatality due to COVID-19 in Minnesota. The President declared a national emergency related to COVID-19 on March 13, 2020. Since then, and for the first time in history, the President has approved major disaster declarations for all fifty states and the District of Columbia. In concert with these federal actions and the actions of states across the nation, Minnesota has taken proactive steps to ensure that we remain ahead of the curve. On March 13, 2020, I issued Executive Order 20-01 and declared a peacetime emergency because this pandemic, an act of nature, endangers the lives of Minnesotans, and local resources were and continue to be inadequate to address the threat. After notifying the Legislature, on April 13, 2020, May 13, 2020, June 12, 2020, and July 13, 2020, I issued Executive Orders extending the peacetime emergency declared in Executive Order 20-01. The need to slow the spread of the virus while we ensured that Minnesota had the resources and capacity to address a large outbreak initially required the closure of certain non -critical businesses in our economy. In Executive Order 20-33, seeking to balance public health needs and economic considerations, we began planning to allow more Minnesota workers to safely return to work. We drafted and implemented guidelines and requirements for appropriate social distancing, hygiene, and public health best practices. Executive Order 20-38 expanded exemptions for outdoor recreational activities and facilities, and Executive Orders 20-40, 20-48, 1