Photo by Deb Gau Gov. Tim Walz ordered an end to Minnesota’s COVID-19 mask mandate on Friday, after new guidance from the CDC said people who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 don’t need to wear face masks in most situations. But while some customers at Main-Stay Cafe in Marshall said they were happy to hear the news, cafe staff like Kenzie Wymer said they were waiting to hear more specific guidance as to whether they should keep wearing masks.

MARSHALL — The announcement that Minnesota’s state mask mandate would end Friday brought a mix of reactions from area residents.

While some had questions about how the end of the mask requirement would work, others were happy to hear the news.

“It’s great,” Balaton resident David Roxin said of the end of the mask order. “For the last couple of weeks, a lot of people haven’t been wearing them.”

“We’re happy,” said some of the customers having lunch at the Main-Stay Cafe on Friday. Meanwhile, staff at Main-Stay said they were continuing to wear face coverings, until they received further guidance from area public health agencies or the MDH.

Gov. Tim Walz said an executive order would be signed Friday morning to lift Minnesota’s state mask mandate, after new guidance was released by the Centers for Disease Control. In a Thursday briefing, Walz said it was “untenable” to have a mask mandate only for unvaccinated people. However, while Minnesotans are free to follow the CDC’s new guidelines, Walz said individual businesses or cities can make their own decisions about whether to require face coverings.

“There will be decisions that can be made by local business, by local jurisdictions, and certainly in the health care industry,” Walz said. Mask requirements at schools will also remain through the end of the school year.

“It’s definitely time, Rep. Chris Swedzinski, R-Ghent, said of the decision to end the state mask order. “I know a lot of folks were frustrated with youth sports,” and other activities where masks were required, Swedzinski said.

“I think people in our area are certainly ready” for the mask mandate to end, said Stacy Frost. But she and other customers at Main-Stay on Friday also said there was a “spectrum” of reactions, from people who didn’t support masking to people who will likely continue to wear face masks.

While the news that the state mask mandate was ending was positive, “I feel like it’s kind of a sudden thing,” one customer said. Previously, Gov. Walz had said the mandate would stay in place until 70% of eligible Minnesotans had been vaccinated.

“I was surprised,” Mary Surprenant said of the news. “I thought it was going to be July 1 or 70%.”

Surprenant said she was still concerned about the need to protect vulnerable community members, like elderly people and people who can’t be vaccinated yet. A first-grade student at Park Side Elementary died of complications from COVID-19 in April, she said.

Some area residents, like Bob and Pam Nordeen, said the state mask order had been frustrating.

“I think it’s more of a hindrance,” said Bob Nordeen, who was having lunch at Mike’s Cafe on Friday.

Pam Nordeen said she still had questions about which cities and businesses would still have their own mask mandates in place.

“It was good to hear (the governor’s) announcement, but I wish he’d be more specific about which towns do have mask orders and which don’t,” she said.

Roxin said the mask order didn’t make sense for going to restaurants.

“It just seems ridiculous to put it on and walk a short distance, and then taken it off,” Roxin said.

Walz’s order to end the state mask mandate came after the CDC issued new guidance saying people who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 don’t need to wear masks in most circumstances.

“The CDC guidance remains, and our MDH guidance will remain, that people who are not vaccinated still are at risk. And my ambivalence about this and my concern about this is there are still an awful lot of people in Minnesota who are not vaccinated,” MDH Commissioner Jan Malcolm said Thursday. Currently, 61% of Minnesotans age 16 and older have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. In Lyon County, 54% of people 16 and older have been vaccinated.

Malcolm said it’s still important for people to continue to get vaccinated. “Sixty-one percent is not nearly enough to keep this virus suppressed.”

Carol Biren, public health director at Southwest Health and Human Services, had similar recommendations for area residents on Friday. “We know the disease hasn’t changed,” she said. COVID-19 is still transmitted through droplets in the air, and spending time indoors close to other people increases the risk of spreading COVID. Biren said it’s still advisable to wear face coverings if you haven’t been vaccinated, and to limit indoor gatherings with unvaccinated people.

For now, Marshall area residents should also plan on wearing face coverings in health care settings. Avera Marshall Medical Center hasn’t changed its protocols on masks, said Avera Marshall communications partner Stacy Neubeck.