US Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. Jordan E. Gilbert
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Sunday’s COVID update includes 996 new cases and 13 new deaths.
The recently reported deaths bring the state total to 6,200 during the course of the pandemic. Of these deaths, 63.4% (3,929) were residents of long-term care facilities, including 7 of the 13 reported on Sunday.
As of January 29, the state reported that 418,299 people had received at least 1 dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, while 111,715 people completed the two doses of the vaccine needed for the full effect of the vaccines.
MDH has a public panel to monitor the progress of the vaccine in Minnesota, and you can view it here.
Two new variants of the coronavirus have been confirmed in Minnesota, including the first known case of the Brazil P.1 variant in the United States. This case involves a Minnesotan who recently traveled to Brazil. There are 8 confirmed cases of variant B.1.1.7. The two new strains are believed to be more transmissible.
Hospitalizations
Hospitalization data is not updated on weekends.
As of January 28, the number of people with COVID-19 hospitalized in Minnesota was 450. Of those hospitalized, 95 were in intensive care and 355 were receiving treatment outside the ICU.
Across the state, there were 166 ICU beds available. During the November surge, the state had less than 100 ICU beds available. The number of beds available depends on the number of employees available, so the totals change constantly.
Test rates and positivity
The 996 positive results in Sunday’s update were a total of 30,362 tests completed, creating a daily test positivity rate of 3.28%.
According to Johns Hopkins University, the Minnesota test positivity rate for the past seven days is 3.77%, making it one of the lowest rates in the country.
The World Health Organization recommends that a percentage rate of positivity (total positives divided by the total of completed tests) below 5% for at least two weeks is necessary to reopen the economy safely. This limit of 5% is based on the total of positives divided by the total of tests.
Coronavirus in Minnesota in numbers
- Total tests: 6,576,802 (over 6,545,968)
- People tested: 3,264,300 (out of 3,253,030)
- People with at least 1 vaccine injection: 381,204 on January 28 (up from 381,204)
- Positive cases: 461.807 (over 460,819)
- Deaths: 6,200 – 248 of which are “probable *” (above 6,187)
- Patients who no longer need isolation: 446,137 (out of 444,782)
* Probable deaths are patients who died after a positive test using the COVID-19 antigen test, which is considered less accurate than the most common PCR test.