The Minnesota Department of Health’s (MDH) COVID Tuesday update includes 586 new cases and six new deaths.
The recently reported deaths bring the state total to 6,308 during the course of the pandemic. Of those deaths, 63% (3,977) were residents of long-term care facilities, including five of the six reported on Tuesday.
As of February 7, the state reported that 569,164 people had received at least 1 dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 162,132 people had completed the two doses of the vaccine needed for the maximum 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 one that was the first known case of the Brazil P.1 variant in the United States. This case involves a Minnesotan who 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
As of February 8, the number of people with COVID-19 hospitalized in Minnesota was 321. Of those hospitalized, 74 were in intensive care and 247 were receiving treatment outside the ICU.
Across the state, there were 177 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 564 positive results in Tuesday’s update were a total of 10,623 tests completed, creating a daily test positivity rate of 5.31%.
According to Johns Hopkins University, the Minnesota test positivity rate for the past seven days is 3.47%, 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: 6,808,634 (over 6,798,547)
- People tested: 3,322,594 (from 3,321,315)
- People with at least 1 vaccine injection: 569,164 (over 556,482)
- People with 2 vaccines: 162,132 (over 158,763)
- Positive cases: 469,254 (from 468,682)
- Deaths: 6,308 – 262 of which are “probable *” (above 6,302)
- Patients who no longer need isolation: 455,280 (over 454,290)
* 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.