Key metrics used to track the spread of coronavirus in Minnesota continued to move in a positive direction on Sunday.
Sunday’s Minnesota Department of Health update included two-day data because of reporting delays during the Christmas holiday. But the numbers were not much different from recent reports for a single day.
Sunday’s two-day update showed 2,534 new cases from more than 88,000 test results – compared to 2,170 cases from around 53,000 tests in Saturday’s single-day update.
At last week’s average, the test’s positive rate in Minnesota has now dropped to about 4.7 percent – below the 5 percent limit that state officials said was a cause for concern.
The last time the average weekly positivity rate was below 5% was in the first week of October.
The average number of new COVID cases and hospital admissions each day in Minnesota is at its lowest levels in almost two months.
But amid encouraging news, the death toll continued to rise. State health officials reported an additional 40 deaths from COVID-19 on Sunday – including 27 residents of long-term care facilities.
The total number of pandemic deaths in Minnesota is now 5,147 – including 3,332 residents of long-term care institutions, or about 65% of the total.
The latest death toll in two days is well below Minnesota’s recent average of more than 50 COVID deaths per day – but it was unclear whether the holiday may have affected reports.
Here are the current ones from Minnesota COVID-19 Statistics; Sunday’s update included two days of data:
-
5,107 deaths (40 reported on Sunday)
-
409,061 positive cases (2,534 new cases reported on Sunday), with 388,919 isolation (95 percent)
-
5.5 million tests, 2.9 million people tested (about 51 percent of the population)
-
4.7 percent positive test rate in seven days (officials consider 5 percent concerned)
The number of confirmed active cases in Minnesota dropped to less than 15,000 on Sunday – down from more than 50,000 at its peak in November, and the lowest since late October.
Even as they applaud the improvement in the number of cases and hospitalizations, state public health leaders continue to warn that conditions can change dramatically if people are not vigilant during the holidays.
They are begging people to wear masks in outdoor meeting spaces, distance themselves socially and take other measures to help stem the spread of COVID-19.
“We are still in a situation where there are only a large amount of viruses circulating in the community,” said health commissioner Jan Malcolm on Wednesday.
Malcolm praised Minnesotans for following the guidelines on public meetings and social detachment and said that vaccination will help even more. But she cautioned that this does not mean that Minnesota can let its guard down.
The state must still take precautions “to help the vaccine do its job,” said Malcolm. “This is important not only to protect you and your immediate family, but also to protect your neighbors or people in your community that you don’t even know.”
Number of cases spread across age groups
People in their 20s still make up the age group with the highest number of confirmed cases in the state – more than 78,000 since the start of the pandemic, including more than 41,000 among people between the ages of 20 and 24.
The number of school-age youth confirmed with the disease has also grown, with more than 31,000 total cases among those aged 15 to 19 since the start of the pandemic.
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 grandparents and other vulnerable populations.
It is especially worrying because people can have the coronavirus and spread COVID-19 when they have no symptoms.
New cases decline in Minnesota
Central and western Minnesota have generated much of the increase in new cases in the past two months, while Hennepin and Ramsey counties showed some of the slowest case growth in the state.
Cases continue to fall across the state, but have not yet dropped to their levels before the state’s COVID-19 surge that hit in November and early December. By controlling the volume of testing, the rate of positivity in cases is dropping in almost all Minnesota counties. Even the most populous counties in the state, Hennepin and Ramsey, had a positivity rate below 5 percent last week.
After an increase in confirmed cases during much of November and early December, all regions of the state saw the number of new cases drop.
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 though the count of new cases has declined since its peak a few weeks ago, the data shows 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 seen among Minnesota’s indigenous residents. The number of indigenous people increased in October in relation to the population.
Statewide developments
Walz extends pay cut to him and his chief of staff
Governor Tim Walz said on Wednesday that he is adding six months to a 10 percent cut in wages he and his chief of staff are receiving during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In April, Walz imposed a pay cut for him and the agency’s commissioners to save state money and show solidarity to people who struggled due to the restrictions he imposed. These were set to expire next week.
A new executive order leaves the 10% cut in payment in effect for just two people: Walz and team leader Chris Schmitter. Walz earns $ 127,000 a year; Schmitter earns about $ 140,000. Cabinet level remuneration will return to previous levels.
Walz said the agency’s heads are working longer hours to control the pandemic. The Minnesota budget situation has also improved.
Walz also signed an executive order allowing pharmacists from outside the state to help administer the COVID-19 vaccine because of personnel strains among Minnesota pharmacists.
– Brian Bakst | MPR News
Top headlines
The Sauk Center offers COVID-19 hospital employees a demonstration of support: Last month, the CentraCare healthcare system in central Minnesota announced it would move its hospital at Sauk Center to care almost exclusively for patients with COVID-19. It was a big change for health professionals and small town residents.
MSU Mankato addresses hunger on campus with free groceries now, food pantry in the spring: As COVID-19 continues to exacerbate the needs of people in Minnesota, including access to food and hunger, these problems can also be found on college campuses. At Minnesota State University in Mankato, the college is taking action to feed its students.
Minnesotans plans the expected federal relief payment: Most miners are expecting more relief money from the federal government’s COVID-19 relief, even as President Donald Trump suggests the possibility of vetoing the stimulus package that Republicans and Democrats finally decided on. The president says direct payments must be more than three times higher than the $ 600 that the House and Senate offered.
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.
You make MPR News possible. Individual donations are behind the clarity in covering our reporters across the state, stories that connect us and conversations that provide perspectives. Help ensure that MPR remains a resource that unites Minnesotans.
Donate today. A $ 17 gift makes the difference.