Gov. Tim Walz is expected to announce a relaxation of the order closing restaurants and bars to combat the spread of COVID-19. We welcome that news, and hope local establishments and their employees will be able to come back from the economic woes the closure in November have forced on them.

We anticipate that there will be some restrictions on capacity, and that social distancing requirements will be in place. It is important that restaurant and bar patrons realize that reopening doesn’t mean the risk is gone. If people jam into their favorite restaurants or drinking holes without regard to COVID-19 safety and another surge occurs, the governor will have to shut things down again.

These are difficult times, and the introduction of COVID-19 vaccines will eventually produce the widespread immunity that will allow us to return to normal, but until then we have to be aware of the risks and maintain the mask-wearing, elbow-bumping and distance maintaining discipline that remain our best protection from COVID-19.