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By Albert Lea Tribune and Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS — Gov. Tim Walz on Thursday extended Minnesota’s stay-at-home order for another two weeks, to May 18, while loosening some restrictions on retail businesses to allow curbside pickup.

Walz said the stay-at-home order has helped keep the coronavirus from erupting in Minnesota, but he wants to move cautiously “to keep this virus at a simmer, not a boil.”

He said easing restrictions on retailers would allow up to 30,000 Minnesotans to go back to work safely. Businesses must develop and post their plans to reopen safely, outfit workers in masks and protective equipment, use online payment as much as possible and maintain social distancing.

Coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths continue to climb in Minnesota, but the state is making progress toward more testing, according to new data Thursday from the Minnesota Department of Health.

The department reported 24 new deaths, for 343 total. A new one-day high of 492 confirmed cases pushed the state’s total to 5,136. And a daily high of 3,532 new tests brought the total to 70,276.

Officials have warned that the case count will swell as testing accelerates. Walz last week announced a partnership with the University of Minnesota and Mayo Clinic to expand the state’s testing capacity to 20,000 daily within a few weeks.

The department also reported that 365 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Thursday, up 45 from Wednesday, and 130 of them were in intensive care, up 11 from the day before.

Health officials say the real number of Minnesotans infected with the coronavirus is likely much higher because most people don’t get tested, and studies suggest that people can be infected without feeling sick.

Some Republicans have pressed Walz to reopen more quickly, noting far lower virus case counts outstate than in Minnesota’s big cities. House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt, a Republican from Crown, said Walz should do more to help “Main Street” businesses.

“For thousands of other businesses, being closed until May 18 could be a devastating setback that they may not recover from. I hope the governor will move as quickly, and with as much advance notice as possible to help other businesses reopen their doors,” Daudt said.

District 27A Rep. Peggy Bennett, R-Albert Lea, described Walz’s announcement as a “real gut punch to the Main Street business owners who have been holding their breath for weeks and are nearly out of air.”

“Minnesota can methodically and carefully reopen its economy and keep Minnesotans safe, it doesn’t have to be one or the other,” she said. “Our small stores can safely serve the public in the same ways being given to our larger retailers, and the governor needs to trust them and give them that opportunity.”

What businesses are affected by the order?

According to the governor’s order, businesses in this category include “retail stores and other businesses that sell, rent, maintain and repair goods that can be picked up outside, without entering the place of business, with limited interaction between employees and customers.”

Businesses that provide services such as household goods rental, maintenance services, repair services and pet grooming are included. Salons and barbershops are included only to conduct retail product sales, excluding sales of service chemicals not intended for retail. Salons and barbershops may not provide any services.

Businesses in this category must conduct sales only by outdoor pick-up or delivery, adhering to guidance provided by the Department of Employment and Economic Development.

To open, businesses must:

• Develop and publicly post a plan for how to open safely.
• Use online payment whenever possible.
• Employees and customers should wear masks and protective equipment.
• In curbside pick-up scenarios, social distancing guidelines apply. If possible, customers should not leave their vehicle.
• In delivery scenarios, items should be deposited outside a customer’s residence.

Minnesotans should also continue to telework whenever possible, wear face masks in public, screen for symptoms and regularly check their temperature, and maintain physical distance from each other.