ST PAUL, Minn. — Wednesday, Feb. 17
- Walz says middle, high school students can return to in-person learning Feb. 22
- Delays expected in Minnesota vaccine delivery, appointments due to inclement weather in southern US
- Cases drop below 500 on low testing volume, another day of single-digit deaths
- Walz expands capacity limits in restaurants, entertainment spaces, gyms, pools and private events, and allows restaurants and bars to remain open until 11 p.m.
Minnesota's new COVID case numbers bumped up a bit Wednesday, an anticipated development as weekday testing volume increased.
Data released by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) reflects 783 new cases of the virus, an increase from Tuesday's 456. Wednesday's case numbers were based on results from 22,160 tests (18,630 PCR, 3,530 antigen) processed in private and state labs. That is more than twice the testing volume reported Tuesday.
Health officials consider a positive PCR test a confirmed COVID case, while a positive antigen test is considered a probable case.
Minnesota has now tallied 475,379 coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic, 22,055 of which are tied to antigen tests.
Reported COVID deaths are in double digits for the first time in four days. MDH says 10 people died from the virus in the last day, pushing fatalities to 6,390. Of that total 4,019, or 63% of them, are associated with long-term care or assisted living settings.
Minnesota is nearing 700,000 people who have received at least one dose of COVID vaccine. The state vaccine dashboard says as of Monday, 695,629 people have at least received the first shot, with 246,431 of them having completed the two-shot series.
At this point, about 12.3% of Minnesota's 5.6 million residents have been vaccinated at least once.
Hospitalizations for COVID-19 continue to drop, with 314 people receiving in-patient care as of Tuesday. Of those patients 54 are in the ICU. The availability of non-ICU beds in Twin Cities hospitals remains low, with just 3.8% (141 beds) open at this time.
Total hospitalizations since the pandemic began are now up to 25,287, with 5,212 people requiring ICU care.
Young adults continue to be a concern to health officials, with people 20 to 24 accounting for the most coronavirus cases of any group (47,511). Three people included in those cases died. The age group registering the most fatalities is those between 85 and 90-years-old, with 1,211 deaths in 6,182 cases.
Hennepin County has recorded the highest amount of COVID activity with 98,644 cases and 1,569 deaths, followed by Ramsey County with 42,308 cases and 790 deaths, Dakota County with 35,280 cases and 380 deaths, and Anoka County with 32,669 cases and 380 fatalities.
Tuesday, Feb. 16
2 p.m.
Minnesota health officials held a regular briefing call Tuesday afternoon to share updates on the state's COVID-19 situation.
On the call, MDH Commissioner Jan Malcolm said the state is seeing "encouraging" signs of progress in long-term care homes. She said just 15 cases were reported in nursing homes in the last week's data -- the lowest number since March.
Officials also addressed the COVID-19 variants circulating in Minnesota. Infectious Disease director Kris Ehresmann said the state is seeing a concerning uptick in cases of the variant first discovered in the United Kingdom. She urged Minnesotans to keep following mitigation measures like masking and social distancing.
Ehresmann said so far, Minnesota has detected 40 cases of the U.K. variant and 2 cases of another variant first discovered in Brazil. She said the variants are more transmissible and may cause more severe illness.
Officials also said Minnesota will experience delayed shipments of COVID-19 vaccines due to inclement weather in the southern United States. They said to expect potential delays, cancellations or other disturbances due to the situation.
St. Louis County was the first to issue a press release on the expected vaccine delivery problems. The county's health department said it has canceled three vaccination clinics scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday. The cancellation affects several hundred people who had been scheduled to receive their first dose of the Moderna vaccine.
The county said those whose appointments are affected will receive a cancellation notice via email. When vaccine supplies are available again, they will receive a follow-up email for rescheduling.
11 a.m.
New reported cases of COVID-19 continue to drop, according to data released by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Tuesday, as vaccination efforts continue to ramp up across the state.
MDH recorded 456 positive coronavirus cases in the last day, the lowest number since 432 were documented on September 15. Those cases are based on results from just 9,333 tests (7,960 PCR, 1,373 antigen) processed in private and state labs, an extremely low volume. MDH spokesman Doug Schultz confirms that testing volume reported on Tuesdays is generally the lowest of the week, as those numbers are based on tests performed on Saturdays and Sundays.
Two people have died from the virus in the past day, bringing Minnesota fatalities to 6,380. Of those deaths 4,016, or 63% of them, are tied to assisted living or long-term care facilities.
The state vaccine dashboard says, as of Sunday, just over 12% of Minnesota's 5.6 million residents have received at least one dose. That's 686,210 people, with 240,027 of those having completed the two-shot COVID series.
People age 65 and over make up 307,423 of those who have been given at least one dose, with 238,934 of those between 18 and 49 also receiving vaccinations. The majority of that age demographic are healthcare professionals, first responders and front line workers.
Providers have hit the goal set by Governor Tim Walz in a recent directive, administering 90 percent of the vaccine supply they receive within three days time.
The number of Minnesotans hospitalized for COVID-19 since the pandemic began has climbed to 25,243, with 5,206 of those patients requiring ICU care. State health officials say 461,406 people who at one time tested positive for the virus have recovered to the point they no longer require isolation.
Young adults between 20 and 24 years old make up the largest group of the state's COVID cases with 47,450 and three deaths. The virus has been deadliest for people between 85 and 89, claiming 1,208 lives in just 6,177 diagnosed cases.
Hennepin County health officials have recorded the largest volume of COVID activity with 98,486 cases and 1,569 deaths, followed by Ramsey County with 42,257 cases and 788 deaths, Dakota County with 35,227 cases and 378 deaths, and Anoka County with 32,638 cases and 380 deaths.
Cook County in northeastern Minnesota has seen the fewest confirmed cases with 118, followed by Lake of the Woods County with 212.
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The state of Minnesota has set up a data portal online at mn.gov/covid19.