ST PAUL, Minn. — Monday, Aug. 10
- Visitor restrictions to loosen on long-term care facilities
- MDH: Hospitalizations at 300 or more for 11th straight day
- COVID makes for quiet, socially distanced move-in day at SCSU
- Chaska Police report scam involving COVID-19 test payment
2 p.m.
On a Monday afternoon briefing call, state health officials gave more details about upcoming relaxed visitation policies in long-term care facilities.
According to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), new guidance will take effect Aug. 29 allowing facilities to decide on the most "appropriate" visitation policy for their residents and staff.
MDH cited a desire to balance COVID-19 prevention with the well-being of residents who have been isolated during the pandemic. The health department also said visits help identify maltreatment and abuse. Maltreatment reports have gone down by 20% compared to a similar period from 2019.
MDH Commissioner Jan Malcolm said Monday that over 90% of assisted living facilities in the state have had zero COVID-19 cases in the last 28 days. Just over half of skilled nursing facilities have ever had an outbreak, Malcolm said, and just under 30% have had a case in the last 28 days.
Malcolm said MDH shares these statistics to remind the public that long-term care facilities have worked hard to mitigate outbreaks and have made progress reducing the number of cases in their communities.
The pandemic is into its eighth month with unfortunately no indications of slowing down, Malcolm said, making the need to balance safety with the well-being of residents an "urgent priority."
"We need to be finding solutions that are sustainable over the long-term," said Lindsey Krueger, director of the MDH Office of Health Facility Complaints. "Walling of residents from the majority of their family and friends is simply not a sustainable approach, but neither is allowing wide open visitation."
Krueger said they are asking for each facility to assess their own risk based on MDH guidance. Nursing home residents are four times as likely to contract COVID-19 as assisted living-type facility residents, Krueger said.
Krueger listed three reasons MDH has decided to roll out these new guidelines now, with the pandemic showing no signs of letting up.
- MDH has a robust system in place including testing, procedures to request personal protective equipement (PPE), and crisis staffing support with more than 1,100 qualified health care professionals signed up in the database.
- The vast majority of long-term care facilities are in good shape and many would meet the stringent criteria set in place.
- MDH does not believe the current restrictions are sustainable. "We have had stringent visitor restrictions in place for months, and that kind of blunt tool cannot be left in place forever without real costs," Krueger said.
Minnesota Deputy Ombudsman for Long-Term Care Aisha Elmquist said the isolation is a concern for her office, as well.
"Our office sees daily examples of the suffering and desperation this causes," she said.
Elmquist said many people who contact her office are in a situation like this: "They are alone in a room, or perhaps a small apartment, almost all day every day. They leave their long-term care setting only for essential medical appointments, if at all."
Many are experiencing emotional or mental deterioration due to the restrictions on visitors, Elmquist said.
"We hope this guidance will help to alleviate the solitude and heartache that people in long-term care have endured over the past months," she said.
Melanie Van Wyhe, a Stillwater woman whose mother is in long-term care, spoke on the briefing call as well. She told her story of watching her mother deteriorate as she was unable to have visitors, during one conversation asking Melanie if she was in prison.
"If you have a loved one in a facility, I encourage you to not give up," Van Wyhe said. "Staff can be great, but they aren't family."
Malcolm said MDH is not requiring any facilities to allow visitors, but is offering guidance should facilities choose to move forward with lifting some restrictions.
Krueger said facilities don't need to send plans to MDH, they just need to use the guidance to determine whether they are in a stable enough place to allow visitors.
Elmquist said that participation in the essential caregiver program, which was introduced to facilities a month ago as one avenue to allow friends and family back in for visits in a designated role, has been "spotty."
"There have been a number of facilities that have declined to begin an essential caregiver program at this time," she said.
Elmquist said that they are aware of the risks associated with rising COVID-19 cases in the state, but that loneliness and isolation are health risks, too.
"We simply can't keep loved ones in isolation with no end in sight," Elmquist said.
11 a.m.
Numbers issued Monday by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) indicate 320 people are being treated for COVID-19 in hospitals across the state, continuing a trend that has officials concerned.
Of those 320 patients, 159 are showing symptoms serious enough to require treatment in the ICU. Monday marks the 11th consecutive day that 300 or more people have been hospitalized, after a stretch where that number was down below the mid-200s.
MDH says an additional 625 people tested positive for the coronavirus in the past 24-hour reporting period, bringing the total number of cases to 61,516 since the pandemic started. Those new cases were based on the results of 12,787 cases processed in private and state labs in the past day.
Three more Minnesotans have died of COVID-19, bringing the total of fatalities to 1,660.
Health officials say 54,364 people who at one time tested positive for the virus have recovered to the point they no longer require isolation.
Those between the ages of 20 and 29 continue to make up the largest group of cases in the state with 14,377. Four people from that age group have died. People from 30 to 39 account for 11,275 of the cases and 14 deaths, while those from 80 to 89 make up just 1,984 of the cases but 556 of Minnesota's deaths. That's 33% of the state total.
Hennepin County has the most COVID cases, reporting 19,472 with 835 deaths, more than half of the state's total fatalities. Ramsey County reports 7,658 cases and 267 deaths, while Dakota County has registered 4,480 cases and and 106 deaths.
Sunday, Aug. 9
2 p.m.
The Wisconsin's Department of Health Services reported 621 new cases Sunday, as the total number of confirmed cases rose to 60,554.
Health officials also announced two new deaths Sunday, raising the total number of fatalities statewide to 998.
Wisconsin health officials say a total of 5,000 people have been hospitalized from the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic, roughly 8.3% of the total number of people who have been diagnosed with the virus.
Of the confirmed cases in Wisconsin, 25% involve people between the ages of 20 to 29, 17% are between 30 and 39, 14% are between 40 and 49, and 14% are 50 to 59. An estimated 10% are between 10 and 19, and 9% are between 60 and 69.
As of Sunday, Milwaukee County reported the largest number of cases with 21,062 and 456 deaths. Dane County reports 4,536 cases and 39 deaths, while Brown County has registered 4,264 cases and 54 deaths.
A more detailed breakdown of cases by county can be found on the DHS website.
11 a.m.
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) announced Sunday that the number of positive coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in Minnesota has increased by 806 bringing the cumulative total to 60,898.
Nine more people also died, bringing the death total to 1,657.
Health officials say 1,249 deaths have taken place in long-term care or assisted living facilities.
Of the nine new deaths, five occurred at private residences and four in long-term care.
MDH also said Sunday that the total number of tests taken is at 1,159,139.
Minnesota hospitals are currently treating 312 patients for the coronavirus, with 148 of them dealing with symptoms serious enough to require care in the ICU.
MDH reports that 53,568 people once diagnosed with the virus have recovered enough that they no longer require isolation.
Of those who have tested positive, people between the ages of 20-29 account for the most cases with 14,253 cases and four deaths, and those ages 30-39 follow with 11,163 cases and 14 deaths. Those between 80 and 89 years old account for the highest number of fatalities in one age group at 555, out of 1,969 confirmed cases.
In terms of likely exposure to the coronavirus, MDH says 13,756 cases were the result of community transmission with no known contact with an infected person, and 12,094 had known contact with a person who has a confirmed case.
A total of 8,740 cases involved exposure in a congregate living setting, 801 were in a corrections setting, and 247 were in a homeless shelter. MDH data shows 5,611 were linked to an outbreak outside of congregate living or health care.
MDH says 4,661 cases were linked to travel. Health care workers or patients account for 4,522 of diagnosed COVID-19 cases.
Hennepin County has the most cases in the state at 19,271, with 835 deaths, followed by Ramsey County with 7,572 cases and 265 deaths. Dakota County reports 4,414 cases and 106 deaths.
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The state of Minnesota has set up a data portal online at mn.gov/covid19.
