ST PAUL, Minn. — Thursday, June 24
- MDH reports 138 new COVID cases, 6 deaths
- Japanese emperor voices concern over Olympics, pandemic
- Experts say benefits of vaccine outweigh small heart risk
- Biden, Walz continue to push for 70% vaccine milestone by July 4
11 a.m.
New COVID-19 infections in Minnesota are back over the 100-case mark, after a number of recent days dipping into double digits.
Data shared by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) shows 138 new cases reported in the past day, based on results from 13,585 tests (10,812 PCR, 2,773 antigen) processed in private and state labs. Total cases in Minnesota have risen to 604,879 since the pandemic began.
Young adults ages 20 to 24 make up the largest grouping of Minnesota's cases with 58,416 and five deaths, followed closely by their 25 to 29-year-old counterparts with 53,539 cases and eight deaths.
Six more people have died from the virus, bringing COVID fatalities in the state to 7,561. Two of the newly reported deaths occurred in St. Louis County, including one involving a person between 35 and 39.
Of total deaths, 4,467 (59%) are associated with long-term care or assisted living facilities.
Hospitalizations remain flat with 117 people across the state being treated on an inpatient basis as of Wednesday, just 32 of them in intensive care.
Minnesota's vaccination effort continues at a crawl, with the percentage of eligible residents bumping up an average of one-tenth of a point per day recently. MDH says 66.5% of those age 16 and older have received at least one dose, 3,036,133 people as of Tuesday. Nearly as many have completed their COVID shot series and are considered completely vaccinated: 2,840,671 people, or 62.7% of those eligible.
The state vaccine dashboard says 102,720 young Minnesotans ages 12 to 15 have been immunized at least once, with 75,675 completely vaccinated.
Wednesday, June 23
11 a.m.
Data released Wednesday by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) reflects the fourth day in June so far that new cases of COVID-19 have been under the 100 mark.
MDH says 84 new infections were reported in the past day, after 80 were documented Tuesday. Those additional cases are based on a relatively low testing volume, with 9,162 tests (7,650 PCR, 1,512 antigen) processed in private and state labs. Health officials consider a positive PCR test a confirmed COVID case, while a positive antigen test is considered probable.
Minnesota's COVID case total now stands at 604,758 since the start of the pandemic. Young adults ages 20 to 24 make up the largest grouping of cases with 58,408 and five deaths, followed by their counterparts ages 25-29 with 53,530 cases and eight fatalities. The four most populous counties in the state have also reported the most coronavirus activity: Hennepin County has recorded 125,027 cases and 1,781 deaths, followed by Ramsey County with 52,525 cases and 898 deaths, Dakota County with 46,864 cases and 471 deaths, and Anoka County with 42,797 cases and 458 fatalities.
Five more Minnesotans have died from COVID, bringing fatalities from the virus to 7,555.
Hospitalizations across the state remain steady, with 113 patients being treated on an inpatient basis as of Tuesday. Of those patients 31 are showing symptoms serious enough to require ICU care. State Health officials say a total of 32,561 people have been hospitalized with COVID since the arrival of the virus. MDH says 596,305 people who tested positive for the virus have progressed to the point they no longer need to be isolated.
Vaccination numbers continue to grow slowly, putting Gov. Tim Walz's goal of having 70% of eligible Minnesotans partially vaccinated by July 4 in doubt. As of Monday 3,032,262 people ages 16 and up had received at least one vaccination, 66.4% of those eligible. MDH says 2,835,126 people (62.6% of those 16+) had completed their COVID series and are considered completely vaccinated.
In total 5,628,826 doses of vaccine have been administered. Pfizer accounts for 56.1% of those doses, Modern 39.5%, and Johnson & Johnson 4.5%.