Twin Cities Counties Could Be Affected By CDC's New Mask Guidance

TWIN CITIES, MN — Hennepin, Ramsey, Dakota, Anoka, and Washington County are among those that should implement a mask mandate under the latest federal guidance.

As of Friday, 35 Minnesota counties are classified by the Centers for Disease Control as having either "high" or "substantial" transmission rates, and they should be mandating indoor masks under the new federal guidance:

• Substantial: Areas with between 50 and 99.99 cases per 100,000 people in a week
• High: Areas with more than 100 cases per 100,000 in a week

On Tuesday, only 14 counties in Minnesota were either "high" or "substantial." However, exploding case growth led to more counties falling into one of those categories.

Case growth in the past 14 days has increased by 167 percent, the New York Times reported.

The 35 Minnesota counties that fall under the CDC's "high" or "substantial" category are:

• Anoka
• Aitkin
• Benton
• Blue Earth
• Crow Wing
• Dakota
• Douglas
• Dodge
• Fillmore
• Freeborn
• Hennepin
• Isanti
• Kandiyohi County
• Lake
• Lake of the Woods
• Le Suer
• McLeod
• Meeker
• Morrison
• Nobles
• Ramsey
• Redwood
• Renville
• Rock
• Roseau
• Sherburne
• Scott
• Steele
• Stearns
• Swift
• Todd
• Traverse
• Washington
• Wright
• Winona

The CDC can only make recommendations. It's up to the state and local government whether to adopt any new policies.

As of Friday afternoon, it was unclear if any counties would be adopting the new CDC mask guidance and issuing mandates.

Early studies show the delta variant is more infectious. The coronavirus vaccine is effective against the delta variant, particularly two weeks after both doses are received, public health officials said.