Read about the Safe Learning Plan for the 2020-2021 school year
Read about the Safe Learning Plan for the 2020-2021 school year
A stay at home order directs Minnesotans to limit movements outside of their homes beyond essential needs. By limiting social interactions, we decrease the chance of transmission of COVID-19 and help our health care sector prepare for increased demands.
The COVID-19 pandemic presents an unprecedented danger to Minnesota. If Minnesota takes no action to combat the spread or fails to prepare our health care system, current modeling indicates that many of our loved ones, friends, and neighbors in Minnesota could die.
Community spread of COVID-19 in Minnesota and nationwide is increasing. By staying at home, we will limit the spread of COVID-19 in our communities – across every corner of the state.
All Minnesotans are urged to voluntarily comply with this Executive Order. The state is working with local law enforcement to support the order.
No. People are free to come into Minnesota, even during this temporary stay-at-home order. To protect our neighbors, people are encouraged to stay close to home and are strongly discouraged from engaging in unnecessary travel. These measures are meant to protect Minnesotans—especially our most vulnerable neighbors.
You are not required to carry any paperwork when you are traveling to and from your place of employment, or anywhere else. All Minnesotans are urged to voluntarily comply with this Executive Order.
The stay at home order is effective from March 27 at 11:59 p.m. to May 17 at 11:59 p.m.
Minnesotans may leave their homes to pick up essential items such as groceries or food, prescriptions, and gas, to relocate for safety reasons, or go to work if their job is deemed essential in a sector. If you leave your home, practice social distancing measures and keep six feet between you and those around you. Everyone is encouraged to stay active outside during this time, provided they practice safe social distancing.
Permissible activities during the stay at home order include:
Executive Order 20-33 allows for the list of exempted activities to be clarified, as deemed necessary by the Governor, to ensure the health, safety and security of all Minnesotans.
If you feel unsafe in your home, you should leave. If you are in an emergency, call 911.
Individuals and families should use their best judgement and purchase only what they need. Grocery stores and food supply chains are sufficiently stocked with enough food and essential items for all Minnesotans.
The executive order directs Minnesotans to stay home and only leave to care for essential needs. The executive order includes exemptions for workers who work at stores providing groceries and other essential supplies, so we expect many of those stores to remain open.
You may leave your home to receive health care, including COVID-19 testing, emergency dental care and other kinds of necessary medical visits. We recommend people call ahead to their health care provider or doctor before seeking medical treatment.
Yes, moving to a new home or apartment is allowed. Moving and relocation services are also allowed to continue.
Like other outdoor activities, going to a playground is allowed under the stay at home order. Families and guardians should be careful to ensure children wash hands after touching play structures and maintain six feet of space from other children as much as possible. Although the Governor’s order doesn’t close playgrounds, they may be closed by local authorities.
In-person sobriety support meetings are not an exempted activity under the stay at home order. These types of gatherings are restricted in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 between households and protect Minnesotans most vulnerable to the effects of COVID-19. Sobriety support groups are encouraged to provide virtual meetings or meetings by telephone for members who need assistance and support during this trying time. Please refer to the following resources to learn more about accessing remote sobriety support:
Alcoholics Anonymous:
Narcotics Anonymous:
Other Resources:
In addition to walking, hiking, running, biking, driving for pleasure, hunting, and fishing, all of which are permitted under the Stay at Home Order, Executive Order 20-38 clarified that safe outdoor recreation opportunities also include:
All of these activities are allowed under Executive Order 20-38 , just as long as you maintain 6-to-10 foot social distancing, avoid gathering in groups, and follow the State’s Outdoor Recreation Guidelines . Groups within a single household may engage in outdoor activities or sports that do not allow for social distancing (e.g., soccer or basketball) but should not engage in such activities with members of other households. Minnesotans should stay close to their primary residence and are strongly discouraged from unnecessary travel, including long-distance travel to engage in outdoor recreational activities.
Yes, individuals may travel to return to their home or residence.
Although the executive order doesn’t prohibit traveling to or from a cabin, the Governor strongly urges all Minnesotans to stay in their primary residences. Staying home helps protects your neighbors from spreading COVID-19 and also avoids crowding rural medical facilities. Avoiding this kind of travel makes us all safer and healthier.
Workers who provide critical services are exempt, if they can't work from home. The resources available here are meant to help you determine eligibility for Critical Sector worker exemptions. Our exemptions are based on federal guidance from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security with some Minnesota-specific additions. This includes, but is not limited to jobs in:
The executive order does not restrict virtual work or telework (work from home). The order encourages Minnesotans working in any field to work from their home or residence as much as possible. The Order identifies critical sector workers and states "all [critical sector] workers who can work from home must do so." The Order states that Critical Sector workers, "who are performing work that cannot be done at their home or residence through telework or virtual work and can be done only at a place of work outside of their home or residence" may leave home to go to work. Employers should not force Critical Sector employees who can do their work from home to go to work. The resources available here are meant to help you determine eligibility for critical sector worker exemptions.
If there is a dispute about an employee's ability to work from home, we encourage the employer and employee to work collaboratively to come up with a solution in light of the order's directive that all critical sector workers who can work from home must do so. If a dispute remains unresolved, employees can contact the SEOC hotline numbers: 651-297-1304 or 800-657-3504 (toll free). The Minnesota Department of Public Safety will work with local law enforcement officials to ensure compliance with the Order. The Governor's focus is on education and voluntary compliance with the Order, but the Order has the force of law and a willful (intentional) violation is a misdemeanor and a gross misdemeanor business owners, managers, or supervisors. Businesses that fail to comply with the Order could also face civil penalties up to $25,000 per occurrence and injunctive relief.