MINNEAPOLIS — Gov. Tim Walz said Wednesday he is extending Minnesota’s stay-at-home order until May 4, saying the original order has bought the state needed time to slow the spread of the coronavirus but that it needs to continue.

Tim Walz

The order had been scheduled to end Friday.

While he said Minnesotans have responded well to the order, Walz noted in his latest emergency executive order that confirmed cases of COVID-19 are rapidly increasing, and community spread of the disease is on the rise.

“What we are doing is working, Minnesota,” Walz said in a statement. “We are taking this seriously, and we are staying home. While Minnesota is showing lower rates of infections than our peers across the country, now is not the time to let up or allow that trajectory to change.”

The order extends the closure of bars, restaurants and other public accommodations through 11:59 p.m. on May 3.

The Minnesota Department of Health reported 85 new cases Wednesday, raising the state’s total to 1,154, and it reported five new deaths for a total of 39. The department said 135 patients were hospitalized Wednesday, an increase of 15, while 64 were in intensive care, unchanged from Tuesday.

Democratic Secretary of State Steve Simon went before a Minnesota House elections subcommittee to ask for temporary authority to ensure the safe conduct of the August primary and November general elections. He said his proposal focuses on minimizing exposure to the coronavirus at polling places and maximizing voting by mail.

The “ugly scene” of Tuesday’s chaotic election in Wisconsin — with its long lines exposing voters to the virus at a sharply reduced number of available polling stations — provided a glimpse of what could happen in Minnesota without the one-time changes, Simon told the committee, which met via videoconference.

“People were forced in Wisconsin to decide between their health and exercising their right to vote,” he said. “And it’s not just Wisconsin. All over the country, voters are very worried.”

Simon said the Legislature needs to quickly make changes so vendors can print the mail ballots and local governments can train election workers in time.

But Republicans on the panel opposed Simon’s proposal in its current form. Rep. Jim Nash, of Waconia, said it would open the door to fraud and electioneering. Nash also said the state’s laws allowing citizens to cast early absentee ballots by mail or in person may be sufficient, though Simon countered by predicting the current rules would still result in too many voters crowding into polling places on election day, and low turnout.

The Republicans also pointed out that under the Legislature’s temporary operating rules during the emergency, no bills can come to the floors without bipartisan support from the House and Senate leadership.

The subcommittee did not take a vote. Its chairman, Democratic Rep. Raymond Dehn, of Minneapolis, said discussions would continue.