This story was originally published on Minnesota Reformer. [1]

This story was originally published on Minnesota Reformer. [1]
Published here under Creative Commons License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
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Walz says State Fair is on track to ‘be pretty close to a normal event,’ citing vaccination rate
By: ['Ricardo Lopez Is The Senior Political Reporter For The Reformer. Ricardo Is Not New To Minnesota Politics', 'Previously Reporting On The Dayton Administration', 'Statehouse For The Star Tribune To', 'The Republican National Convention In Previously', "He Was A Staff Writer At The Los Angeles Times Covering The California Economy. He'S A Las Vegas Native Who Has Adopted Minnesota As His Home State. In His Spare Time", 'He Likes To Run', 'Cook', 'Volunteer With Save-A-Bull', 'A Minneapolis Dog Rescue Group.', 'Ricardo Lopez']
Date: None

The Great Minnesota Get-Together is on track to return this summer, Gov. Tim Walz signaled Friday.

The pandemic led Minnesota State Fair officials to cancel the event last year, but with vaccination rates up, Walz said it’s likely to return this year.

“Everything looks to me on the horizon — and where the vaccine is going and the way that the virus is responding — that should be pretty close to a normal event,” he said in remarks to reporters.

The DFL governor is expected to provide an update soon on the next phase of reopening, facing pressure as other states set explicit timelines on when capacity limits on businesses will be lifted.

Republicans in the Legislature have been calling for Walz to relinquish his emergency powers, but so far the governor has resisted, citing the spread of more infectious COVID-19 variants.

So far, 57% of the state’s population 16 and older has received at least one dose of their COVID-19 vaccine, according to health department data. That amounts to more than 2.5 million people.

The vaccination rate has slowed recently after a strong start that saw demand far outpace the supply. Officials are now strategizing ways to reach Minnesotans who are hesitant to take the vaccine.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevent recently updated guidance about outdoor mask wearing, saying that fully vaccinated people do not generally need to wear masks outdoors unless in large crowds, suggesting that people might be asked to wear masks at the State Fair where crowds are the norm.

A request seeking comment from a spokesperson for the State Fair was not immediately returned Friday.

[1] Url: https://minnesotareformer.com/briefs/walz-says-state-fair-is-on-track-to-be-pretty-close-to-a-normal-event-citing-vaccination-rate/