This week, the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) convened business leaders from across Minnesota to learn about the latest information on the Omicron strain of COVID-19. If you missed these webinars, you can watch it here.

Omicron is a very effective strain of the virus and moves quickly, in fact, it is doubling every 1.5 - 3 days. In Minnesota, the large number of cases suggest widespread community transmission, leading to an estimated 90% of cases right now likely attributed to Omicron.

As cases rise, the increase in demand for hospital resources follows. Our healthcare capacity is stretched very thin and the demands on it are expected to worsen. And our workforce is at continued risk of increased absences due to the disease.

The bottom line: the best way to arm yourself against Omicron is to get vaccinated and boosted, mask up and stay home when you are sick. While there is evidence of less severe disease, we must continue to get Minnesotans vaccinated – the Omicron strain is a especially milder in people who are immunized through vaccination before they contract the infection.

Updated quarantine guidance:

The following guidance applies in all cases:

• You must be able to mask at all times when with others (30% of cases are still infectious at day 6).
• You should avoid immunocompromised and higher risk individuals.
• There are shortened timelines for returning to work, school and essential activities, detailed below.
• If you test positive during quarantine, you will need to move into isolation.
• Some additional sector-specific guidance is in development, and we will share that as it is developed.

Isolation:

Quarantine:

No quarantine: