Minot area leads new COVID-19 cases in North Dakota; no new deaths reported

MINOT, N.D. – Last week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that fully vaccinated people will no longer have to wear masks or practice social distancing.

Now, masks mandated in public places around Minot are starting to loosen as more people get vaccinated.

Local business owners like Minot Jax & Henley owner Connor Koerbitz said they take a lot into consideration when deciding on their mask policy.

“We’ve had a lot of customers be excited that they didn’t have to wear a mask. We’ve seen a lot of that that they were really excited that they didn’t have to put a mask on to come in,” said Koerbitz.

Koerbitz said staff will continue to follow guidelines, consistently clean high traffic areas and wear a mask if asked by a patron but they aren’t required.

“You know, that’s really the first thing we thought about was what can we do to help stop the spread of this and make sure we can keep our doors open,” said Koerbitz.

Across town, patrons of the Minot Public Library will only have to wear a mask if they are getting help at a computer.

Staff said they are adapting to bring back the Homebound Delivery program which had to be shut down last year

“When the volunteers go our staff will be wearing masks of course and some of the places like assisted living places and the nursing home we’re not able to get into but we’re able to drop off at the front desk so we’re getting accommodations made,” said Library Associate Lacey Possen.

The city of Minot announced online that as of May 15 masks will no longer be required inside of city buildings.

A decision representatives said was made in mid-March. “It was giving our employees enough time to choose to get the vaccine if they wanted to and then eventually the mandate would be lifted,” said Public Information Officer Derek Hackett Hackett said that while it is in effect for city buildings, public transportation like city busses and the airport will still require them.

The home Bound Delivery program is set to restart next month.