Ramsey County rolls back mask mandate for county buildings

Face masks are no longer required to enter Ramsey County buildings per revised guidance from the U.S. Centers For Disease Control and Prevention.

Ramsey County Manager Ryan O'Connor told the County Board that he amended the county's policy effective Tuesday. St. Paul is continuing to require face coverings in city-run buildings, creating some confusion surrounding rules in St. Paul City Hall and Ramsey County Courthouse, a single building that both local governments share.

The county's announcement comes a day after Minnesota's state government stopped requiring masks in its buildings, though agencies can choose to implement their own policies. The Minnesota House of Representatives will no longer require masks in the State Office Building starting Monday, according to an e-mail from House Speaker Melissa Hortman.

In Ramsey County, the community risk level dropped to low, or green, on Friday, according to the new CDC guidelines.

The guidelines include three color-coded community risk levels: green for low risk, yellow for medium risk and red for high risk. The guidelines take into account new COVID-19 hospital admissions, the percent of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients and total new cases per 100,000 people in the past seven days.

Masks will not be required when the community risk level is green or yellow, O'Connor said. Masks could be required if the risk level climbs back to red. O'Connor said the decision was made in consultation with officials from St. Paul and the courts.

"Beginning today, we will no longer require masking in our county buildings and facilities but will instead recommend that employees and visitors who are unvaccinated, immunocompromised or at high risk for complications associated with COVID-19 wear a face covering," Ramsey County spokesman John Siqveland said Tuesday in a message to staffers.

Ramsey County's workers will also begin returning to the office in phases starting March 21. O'Connor said he anticipates everyone back to work by the end of summer.

The mayors of St. Paul and Minneapolis rescinded sweeping indoor mask mandates on Thursday, but both are continuing to require face coverings in city-run buildings.

"For buildings such as the courthouse, masks are still required for workers and visitors when they are in city offices and workspaces in alignment with the current executive order, which remains in effect," said Kamal Baker, a spokesperson for St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter.

St. Paul is "working to assess the impact of rescinding the requirement on members of the public and our city workers," Baker said in a statement. Carter has not set a return-to-office date for St. Paul city employees, though he has indicated that he hopes to soon start bringing more workers back downtown.

Minneapolis officials said they are continuing to require masks in buildings owned or operated by the city to provide an extra layer of comfort for employees who returned to work on a hybrid schedule a couple of weeks ago. Mayor Jacob Frey's office said it will continue to monitor data on COVID-19 case rates and hospitalizations.

Ramsey County joins other metro counties, including Washington and Dakota, that have recently rolled back mask mandates.