March 20 update on COVID-19 in MN: ‘A race between variants and the vaccine’

3 things to know

• 24.7 percent of Minnesota residents with at least one dose of vaccine; major leap expected soon in the supply of vaccines

• Outbreaks in Carver County, in the Mankato area and in the east of the Cordillera do Ferro raise concern

• Active cases and hospitalizations up to

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Updated: 11h20

State public health leaders are again pleading with people to be vigilant against COVID-19, saying that they are increasingly concerned that Minnesota’s population will decrease as the weather heats up and the vaccination picture clears.

Officials warn that the highly contagious strain of the UK, now with a presence in Minnesota, has the potential to spread across the state. There are now more than 300 confirmed cases of this variant.

Hot spots of new cases are simmering in the southwestern Twin Cities suburbs, in southern Minnesota around Mankato and in northern Minnesota, at the eastern end of the Iron Range.

Here are the ones from Minnesota current COVID-19 statistics:

• 6,777 deaths (6 new)

• 504,273 positive cases; 97 percent out of isolation

• 24.7 percent of Minnesotans with at least 1 dose of vaccine

• 78.1 percent of Minnesotans 65 and older with at least 1 dose of vaccine

Although the state has made progress in vaccinations, especially among those 65 and older, it has not yet vaccinated enough people to establish herd immunity, and there is a danger of another increase.

“We are in a race between the variants and the vaccine, and the decisions we all make in the coming weeks will have a lot to say about the outcome of that race,” Kris Ehresmann, the state’s director of infectious diseases, told reporters on Friday. “We need to be a little more cautious.”

Vaccination rate improves, but still stable

Saturday’s vaccination data showed some continued promise after several days of mediocre data earlier in the week.

The Health Department reported 61,260 more vaccinations, more than reported the previous Saturday. The seven-day trend is now above 41,000 daily shots. The trend has been largely stable recently – although vaccine supplies are expected to increase soon.

Case counts and hospitalizations, however, are slowly starting to increase again and new hot spots are bubbling up, reinforcing the belief that Minnesota is in a race to vaccinate people quickly enough to prevent another outbreak of COVID-19 throughout the state.

More than 816,000 people – about 14.7 percent of the state’s population – completed their vaccines, while more than 1.37 million – 24.7 percent – received at least one dose, including more than 78 percent of people with 65 years or older.

Minnesota expects to receive 350,000 doses in the week of March 29, Governor Tim Walz said on Friday. Starting in April, authorities also expect the feds to deliver 100,000 doses a week of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which requires only one dose.

Upward active cases; Carver Co., important points of the Iron Range

Minnesota’s COVID-19 numbers show relatively stable disease conditions compared to the sudden surge in late autumn, but there are flashing warning lights.

Recently, there has been a notable increase in the count of known active cases – this is the number of people who still need to isolate themselves after a confirmed COVID-19 case. Saturday’s data shows 10,410 active cases, marking nine consecutive days with asset counts over 8,000, a stretch not seen since late January. It is also the first time since late January that active cases exceed 10,000.

Although current counts are still low compared to late November and early December, the increase is notable, given concerns about the increase in the UK’s COVID-19 strain. Ehresmann said his agency suspects the UK variant is driving the current recovery.

Hospitalizations are still low compared to the increase in late autumn, but those counts are also rising: 316 people were hospitalized on Wednesday, with 74 needing intensive care.

Six recently reported deaths have raised the collective death toll in Minnesota to 6,777. Among those who died, about 63 percent lived in long-term care facilities; most had latent health problems.

The state has recorded 504,273 confirmed or probable total cases so far in the pandemic, including 1,400 posted Friday. About 97% of Minnesota residents known to be infected with COVID-19 in the pandemic have recovered to the point that they no longer need to be isolated.

Public health leaders continue to closely monitor an outbreak in the county of Carver related to the UK strain and youth sports.

The state is recommending that young people across the state be tested every two weeks for COVID-19, with student athletes tested weekly; authorities are also asking everyone in Carver County to take the test.

The Department of Health also warned on Thursday of “dramatic increases” in the cases of COVID-19 at the eastern end of the Minnesota Iron Range around the city of Aurora. How many cases were not reported, but authorities will open a free trial site in Aurora on Monday and Tuesday.

Ehresmann also mentioned a hot spot now in and around Mankato.

As of Friday, there were about 317 cases of the UK variant confirmed across the state, she added. Twelve people were hospitalized across the state because of this strain; two died.

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 – more than 94,000 since the start of the pandemic, including more than 49,000 among those aged 20 to 24.

The number of school-age youth confirmed with the disease has also grown, with almost 40,000 total cases among those aged 15 to 19 since the start of the pandemic.

With children increasingly returning to school buildings and sports, Minnesota public health officials are asking Minnesota families with children to take the COVID-19 test every two weeks until the end of the school year.

Although young people are less likely to experience the worst effects of the disease and end up hospitalized, experts fear that young people will spread the disease unknowingly to older relatives and members of other vulnerable populations.

People can have the coronavirus and spread COVID-19 when they have no symptoms.

Regionally, all parts of Minnesota are in significantly better shape than they were in late November and early December. Some areas are experiencing an increase in cases.

While officials monitor the recent spike in active cases, general trends have improved to the point where Walz last week announced a reversal of many of the state’s remaining pandemic restrictions. “Normality is on the horizon,” said the governor.

But it’s still not there. On Wednesday, Walz said that he, Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan and Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm were in quarantine because of possible exposure to COVID-19.

Number of cases 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 of Hispanic descent during much of the pandemic.

Even with the count of new cases following well below the peaks of late November, early December, data show that Latinos continue to be hit hard.

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.

Walz acknowledged that distrust of communities of color has been a problem during the pandemic. The authorities provided some data on vaccinations broken down by race and ethnicity. The state is updating the data weekly.

Malcolm said the state is committed to doing more to expand access to the vaccine for people of color, including more doses at community pharmacies, partnering with local groups and setting up mobile vaccination clinics.

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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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Latest developments

North Dakota to expand vaccination pool to the general public this month

North Dakota health officials say coronavirus vaccines will be available to the general public from March 29.

The state says that some regions of the state may move to the Phase 2 vaccination phase even earlier. Health professionals, residents and employees of long-term care facilities and the elderly were the first to be vaccinated.

The state Department of Health reported on Friday that nearly 195,000 people in North Dakota received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. There were 119 new cases of the coronavirus reported on Friday, and a new death.

– Associated Press

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