Walz Eases Restrictions on Indoor Dining, Entertainment Venues

January 6, 2021

Site Staff,

(Scott Takushi/Pioneer Press via AP, Pool)

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) – Gov. Tim Walz is ending his ban on indoor dining and will allow indoor entertainment venues to reopen starting Monday as coronavirus infection rates improve in Minnesota.

Walz will announce the changes in a live address at 2 p.m., after which he will take questions from reporters. You can watch Walz’s speech live on our Fox 21 Facebook page or online at fox21online.com.

Walz is rolling back the restrictions to levels from early November before he shut down thousands of businesses across the state to deal with a virus surge that month. Those current closure orders will end Sunday night.

According to sources briefed on Walz’s plans, the governor will allow:

Indoor dining at 50% capacity, with no more than 150 people
Six people per table, with six feet of distance between tables
Bar seating, with no more than two people per party
A bar curfew will be in place from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m.

Walz is also allowing hundreds of indoor entertainment venues to reopen at a limited capacity on Monday. That includes movie theaters, performance venues, and bowling alleys.

Spectators will again be allowed at sporting events, though attendance will be capped. The limit had previously been 250 spectators before Walz shut down youth sports in November.

Infections, hospitalizations, and deaths surged in November across the upper Midwest, including Minnesota. The state’s hospitals hit a peak of 1,864 people hospitalized with COVID-19 on Nov. 29. As of Tuesday, 817 people were hospitalized with the virus.