Rochester City councilman Mark Bransford on another mask mandate

(ABC 6 News) – Earlier this week, Minneapolis and St. Paul reinstated indoor mask mandates at all public-facing businesses and city-controlled facilities as COVID-19 cases continue to surge.

Rochester mayor Kim Norton said she’s been discussing the issue with city council members. As mayor, Norton can call an emergency order as she did back in August when the delta variant hit our community requiring masks to be worn in all indoor public settings.

However, the city council voted against that mandate, making it last only two days. This could happen again if mayor Norton decides to declare another local emergency, but she doesn’t think she will do that if she does not have the support of the city council.– and she can do that at any time.

Rochester City councilman Mark Bransford spoke with ABC 6 News anchor Betsy Singer about the topic.