MINNEAPOLIS — Governor Walz greeted students Monday morning as they filed into their classrooms, before sharing remarks about the state's plan to offer students a chance to learn from their teachers in person.
In a press release, Walz said that more than 90% of Minnesota's school districts and charter schools are offering in-person classes, in line with the state's Safe Learning Plan mandating that schools offer an in-person option by Monday March 8.
“Across the state, Minnesota’s students are heading back to the classroom. As a former classroom teacher of more than 20 years and as a parent, I know how critical in-person learning is to a child’s well-being, and I am proud of this milestone,” said Governor Walz. “With more than one million Minnesotans vaccinated against COVID-19 and our students back in the classroom, the light at the end of this pandemic grows brighter every day.”
The state recommends that those with a student attending classes in person should be tested for COVID-19 every two weeks.
Walz has continued to tout the success of Minnesota's "first in the nation" education vaccination program, offering COVID tests to employees with direct contact with students in their schools.
On Saturday the governor said that nearly 55% of educators in the state, including teachers, school staff and child care providers, have received a COVID vaccine. One million Minnesotans have gotten at least one dose of the vaccine, including 61.7% of Minnesotans aged 65 or older.
Gov. Walz has championed a push for 70% of those 65 and older to be vaccinated before other Minnesotans (excluding educators) had access to vaccine doses.
According to a press release, 42,000 doses of COVID vaccine are being administered per day.
