What’s new in COVID-19 in MN: trends look good, but new strains are worrying

Updated: 16h55

Minnesota’s COVID-19 image continues to light up in February. The numbers remain good and the pace of vaccinations has accelerated in recent days.

Active cases of COVID-19 in Minnesota fell 80% from their peak in late November. Intensive care cases are down in four months. The percentage of positive tests for the disease dropped to levels not seen since the beginning of July.

At the same time, however, some leading experts analyzing the new strains of the virus that are surfacing here and across the country are beginning to warn that the state is not yet out of danger.

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

• 6,187 deaths (19 new)

• 460,819 positive cases (1,087 new), 444,782 out of isolation (96 percent)

• 6.5 million tests, 3.3 million tested Minnesotans (about 56 percent of the population)

• Positive test rate of 3.3 percent in seven days (employees consider 5 percent or more worrying)

• 6.9 percent of Minnesotans vaccinated with at least one dose

Nineteen deaths recently reported on Saturday increased the number of deaths in Minnesota to 6,187. Among those who died, about 63 percent lived in long-term care facilities or care institutions; most had latent health problems.

Also on Saturday, the health department reported that wrong emails and text messages were sent to thousands of Minnesota residents age 65 and older who signed up for the state’s COVID-19 pilot vaccination program. The messages raised doubts about upcoming appointments – but state officials said they were sent in error by a supplier. Find more details here.

The generally positive outlook for COVID statistics is now tempered by concerns about the arrival of new strains of viruses in the United States. All three new known variants of COVID-19 have already been confirmed in the US, including a case of the Brazilian strain identified this week in Minnesota.

This left some experts concerned about the increase in cases.

“These new variants that we’re seeing, these mutant viruses, are much more infectious and, in fact, produce much more serious diseases. And I predict that in the next six to 14 weeks the darkest days of this pandemic will occur, ”Michael Osterholm, head of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, told MPR News on Friday.

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 87,000 since the start of the pandemic, including more than 46,000 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 35,000 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 older relatives and members of other vulnerable populations.

It is particularly 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 of Hispanic descent 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 continue to be the hardest hit.

Mistrust in the government, along with deep-seated economic and health 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 380,000 Minnesota residents received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by Thursday, about 6.9% of the state’s population.

The increase in vaccinations is encouraging news in the two promising weeks of 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 vaccine shipments from the federal government, 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 get it in March or April. “I told my team that I wanted it 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.

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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 torn 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 struggle to know how to plan a funeral that is 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.

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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.