COVID-19 figures in Minnesota continue to move in a positive direction as January comes to an end.
In looking at the previous week, the average number of new COVID cases reported in Minnesota each day dropped to less than 1,000 on Sunday for the first time in more than four months.
The average number of hospital admissions and deaths from COVID each day also continues to fall, as does the average rate of positive testing.
And the number of COVID-19 vaccinations is increasing – with the health department reporting on Sunday the second consecutive day of more than 40,000 doses administered. On last week’s average, the state is seeing more than 30,000 COVID vaccinations a day for the first time.
About 2 percent of Minnesota residents – about 112,000 people – received both doses to complete the COVID vaccination.
Here are the current ones from Minnesota COVID-19 Statistics:
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6,200 deaths (13 new)
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461,807 positive cases (996 new); 446,137 out of isolation (97 percent)
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6.6 million tests, 3.3 million tested Minnesotans (about 56 percent of the population)
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Positive test rate of 3.3 percent in seven days (employees consider 5 percent or more worrying)
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7.6 percent of Minnesotans vaccinated with at least one dose
Amid the encouraging signs, the COVID-19 death toll in Minnesota continues to rise – reaching 6,200 on Sunday.
And health experts are closely monitoring new variants of the coronavirus, looking for any signs of an increase in the case count.
Vaccination in Minnesota continued on Sunday after a technological flaw the day before caused anxiety for some people who signed up for the vaccine pilot program aged 65 or older. A vendor sent the wrong emails and text messages to thousands of Minnesota residents, suggesting that the appointments were canceled – but state officials emphasized that the pilot program’s vaccination appointments continue as scheduled. Find more details here.
Cases spread across age groups, regions
People in their 20s still make up the age group with the highest number of confirmed cases in the state – almost 88,000 since the start of the pandemic, including more than 46,000 among people aged 20 to 24.
The number of school-age youth confirmed with the disease has also grown, with more than 35,000 cases in total between 15 and 19 years since the pandemic began.
Although they are less likely to experience the worst effects of the disease and end up hospitalized, experts fear that young people and young adults may spread the disease to older relatives and members of other vulnerable populations.
It is especially worrying because people can have the coronavirus and spread COVID-19 when they have no symptoms.
The number of cases is decreasing in all regions of the state after a blip in late December, early January.
Hot spots continue to emerge in rural counties in relation to their population.
The number of cases is even heavier among people of color
In Minnesota and across the country, COVID-19 hit communities of color disproportionately in cases and deaths. This was especially true for Minnesota residents during much of the pandemic.
Even with the ease of counting new cases since the peak of late November, early December, the data show that people of color remain the hardest hit.
Mistrust in the government, along with deep-seated health and economic disparities, has hampered efforts to increase testing among communities of color, officials say, especially among unauthorized immigrants who fear that their personal information could be used to deport them.
Similar trends were observed among indigenous Minnesota residents during the pandemic. The number of indigenous people increased in October in relation to the population.
Accelerating the pace of the vaccine
State leaders were challenged from the start to put COVID-19 vaccines into arms quickly and received criticism that the process was too slow at first.
The most recent figures, however, show the increase in vaccinations well underway.
More than 418,000 Minnesota residents received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as of Friday, about 7.6 percent of the state’s population.
The increase in vaccinations is encouraging news in what has been some promising weeks during the pandemic. Even so, the demand for vaccines continues to far exceed supply.
Visiting a vaccination clinic on Thursday in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, Governor Tim Walz said the state is on track to obtain a 16 percent increase in federal government vaccine shipments, allowing Minnesota officials to plan with weeks, not days, in advance.
With the conditions of COVID-19 improving now and vaccinations increasing, “this is a golden opportunity” to reduce the number of cases and hospitalizations, he told reporters, adding, “we are starting to win this fight a little”.
The governor said he was hopeful that most miners like him, who are not in a priority group for a dose of COVID-19, will be able to do it in March or April. “I told my team that I wanted this on the first day of the baseball season,” he said on Thursday.
The opening day of the Minnesota Twins is April 1st. The home debut is scheduled for April 8.
Top headlines
Error sends incorrect vaccine naming messages to thousands of Minnesota residents: Thousands of Minnesota residents age 65 and older who signed up for the state’s COVID-19 pilot vaccination program received erroneous messages on Saturday – messages that raised questions about upcoming appointments.
Michael Osterholm in the COVID variants – ‘we need to understand what’s to come’: Coronavirus cases are falling and the number of vaccinations is increasing. This is good news, right? Yes, but the COVID-19 strains believed to be more communicable have public health experts warning of a possible further increase in cases. Cathy Wurzer, MPR News presenter, spoke with Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Minnesota. He also served on Biden’s transition coronavirus advisory board.
Bloomington schools close classrooms again after bus drivers test positive for COVID: Just 10 days after bringing some students back to face-to-face learning, an outbreak of COVID-19 among transport workers forced Bloomington Public Schools to return to distance learning by mid-February. At least eight people in the district’s transportation department have been infected.
Through mourning, Hmong families divided between honoring the dead and keeping their loved ones safe during COVID: In normal times, relatives and friends would meet for days or weeks, cooking side by side and comforting each other during funeral procedures. But with COVID-19 devastating the community, they were struggling to figure out how to plan a funeral that was not as big and luxurious as they imagined.
Golden tickets for ‘Hunger Games’: Minnesota’s race to vaccinate educators and caregivers of children is now in its second week. The launch managed to hit the arms of thousands of people, but it is only a fraction of the state’s faculty. And it was not without its share of misfortunes.
COVID-19 in Minnesota
The data in these charts are based on the Minnesota Department of Health cumulative totals released daily at 11 am You can find more detailed statistics on COVID-19 at Department of Health website.
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