Masks required in City-operated buildings effective August 6, 2021
Effective tomorrow, Friday, August 6, 2021, all City of Rochester teammates and visitors will be required to wear facial coverings in city-operated facilities, regardless of their vaccination status. This requirement is going into effect because Olmsted County is classified as a county with substantial community transmission of COVID-19. Once counties reach that threshold, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Minnesota Department of Health, and Olmsted County Public Health recommend that face coverings be worn in indoor, public settings by all individuals – vaccinated or not.
The requirement to mask in City facilities will be in place until further notice. The City of Rochester will continue to work with community partners as we monitor and adjust our response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The City of Rochester highly recommends all individuals, regardless of vaccination status, wear masks in indoor, public settings in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Vaccines that protect against COVID-19 are widely available through medical providers and pharmacies. Individuals 12 and older can find vaccine availability at https://mn.gov/covid19/vaccine/find-vaccine/locations/index.jsp. The vaccine is still highly effective against COVID-19 and dramatically reduces hospitalizations and death. However, the Delta variant spreads very easily, and in rare cases, vaccinated people can transmit the virus even if they do not have symptoms.
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