Minnesota Timberwolves Adopt Mandatory Mask-Wearing, Vaxx Passports To Attend Home Games

The Minnesota Timberwolves are mandating masks and proof of vaccination for all attendees' seeking entry to home games at Target Center.

Mandatory masking will go into effect on Sunday, Jan. 16. The venue's vaccination policy will begin on Jan. 30.

Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes relayed the new COVID guidelines, made in response to Minneapolis' recently announced vaccination passport plan — prohibiting all unvaccinated citizens from patronizing at indoor establishments without proof of the jab or proof of a negative COVID test.

Minnesota (20-21) has won four of their last five contests and is slated behind the Los Angeles Lakers as the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference.

The team released a statement on Wednesday, clarifying the restriction, which extends to fans as young as 5. Children younger than the minimum age must provide proof of a negative COVID result "within 72 hours."

"This policy applies to fans age 5 and older. Fans 2-4 years of age will need to provide a negative test administered by a health professional within 72 hours of the game date. We continue to support and comply with state and local guidelines for the health and safety of all."

Similar planning by cities like Los Angeles has yet to produce salient data backing indefinite restrictions as cases soar to all-time highs. What the county and state officials continue to avoid is the Omicron variant's changing nature with higher transmissibility and waning lethal effects. As LA watches its cases shoot up, their death rate has fallen to dips previously seen in Oct., per New York Times' COVID tracker.

California officials' fatalist approach with staying under the thumb of COVID restrictions inspired the NFL to hold a contingency plan on a spare venue for Super Bowl 56 in Dallas — should Inglewood's SoFi Stadium be further limited by February's time.

Follow along on Twitter: @AlejandroAveela