Minnesota Stores Drop Mask Requirement For Vaccinated Customers

MINNESOTA — Several large retailers in Minnesota have changed their mask policies in accordance with the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including Minneapolis-based Target.

On Thursday, the CDC announced that fully vaccinated people are no longer advised to wear masks. Less than 24 hours later, Gov. Tim Walz repealed the statewide mask mandate.

"Given the CDC's updated guidance last week, Target will no longer require fully vaccinated guests and team members to wear face coverings in our stores, except where it's required by local ordinances," Target said.

"Face coverings will continue to be strongly recommended for guests and team members who are not fully vaccinated and we'll continue our increased safety and cleaning measures, including social distancing, throughout our stores."

Here are some businesses that no longer require masks for fully vaccinated customers in Minnesota right now:

• Target
• CVS
• Costco
• Walmart
• Starbucks
• Trader Joe's

The CDC sent out new masking guidelines Thursday and said that fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing except where required by local laws. The CDC considers people to be "fully vaccinated" two weeks after their second dose in a two-dose series of Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines or two weeks after a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine, like the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

• Aldi still requires face coverings to enter its stores, according to its website
• Walgreens still requires face coverings at all stores

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Editor's note: This original version of this article misstated the new masking policy for Starbucks. It has been corrected.