- MDH reports 36 new deaths, 1,571 hospitalizations
- MDH's Kris Ehresmann announces her retirement
- Nurses arriving in Minnesota to support overwhelmed hospitals
- MDH gives guidelines to get at-home COVID tests covered by insurance
- Minneapolis and St. Paul temporarily issue food establishment rule
- State easing quarantine restrictions for child care providers
Friday, Jan. 21
11 a.m.
On Friday, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) reported 36 new COVID-19 deaths in the state.
Minnesota's cumulative death total is at 11,151 since the pandemic began.
Health officials say 5,273 deaths have taken place in long-term care or assisted living facilities.
According to MDH's latest data available, 1,571 people are being treated for COVID in hospitals around the state, with 1,330 in non-ICU beds and 241 in the ICU.
Hospital bed space continues to be low across the state.
There are two staffed adult ICU beds available in northeastern Minnesota and one staffed pediatric ICU bed in the central portion of the state.
MDH reported 9,081,646 total doses of vaccine have been administered in the state, with 3,816,297 people age 5 and older having received at least one shot (73.2%). Of that number 3,575,871 people have completed their COVID series and are considered completely vaccinated (68.6%).
Among children 5-11 years old, 181,729 kids have at least one shot (36%) and 144,827 have completed their vaccine series (28%).
On Friday, 11,828 new COVID-19 cases in the state were announced, however the latest data published likely does not paint the full picture of the current coronavirus surge, which has been fueled largely due to the omicron variant, as many at-home COVID tests were not reported to state health officials.
The cumulative total COVID cases in the state is now at 1,216,734 since the start of the pandemic.
Health experts also say that due to the contagiousness of omicron, counting new cases should not be the primary measurement, saying that hospitalizations and deaths better illustrate the severity of the latest surge.
Watch more on the coronavirus:
Watch the latest reports and updates on the coronavirus pandemic in Minnesota with our YouTube playlist:
Thursday, Jan. 20
1 p.m.
Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Infectious Disease Director Kris Ehresmann announced her retirement Thursday. She is likely best known to the current generation of residents as the face and voice of the COVID pandemic, along with health commissioner Jan Malcolm.
Ehresmann will step down in early February after spending more than three decades dedicated to keeping Minnesotans health.
11 a.m.
On Thursday, MDH officials reported 78 new COVID deaths, which included a victim between the age of 10 to 14 in Dakota County.
Minnesota's cumulative death total is at 11,115 since the pandemic began.
Health officials say 5,265 deaths have taken place in long-term care or assisted living facilities.
Thursday's numbers also show uptick in hospitalizations across the state.
According to MDH's latest data available, 1,629 people are being treated for COVID in hospitals, that's the highest number in more than a month.
MDH reported 9,066,009 total doses of vaccine have been administered in the state, with 3,813,784 people age 5 and older having received at least one shot (73.2%). Of that number 3,573,445 people have completed their COVID series and are considered completely vaccinated (68.6%).
Among children 5-11 years old, 180,640 kids have at least one shot (35%) and 143,489 have completed their vaccine series (28%).
On Thursday, 11,440 new COVID-19 cases in the state were announced. The cumulative total COVID cases in the state is now at 1,204,929 since the start of the pandemic.
Wednesday, Jan. 19
11 a.m.
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) announced Wednesday COVID-19 deaths in the state increased by 37 over the long holiday weekend.
MDH does not share data on weekends, and also did not release numbers on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, so today's backlog of data reflects reports through the extended holiday weekend.
The new fatalities reported include three people in their 30s and four people in their 40s.
Minnesota's cumulative death total now stands at 11,037 since the pandemic began. Health officials say 5,245 of those deaths have taken place in long-term care or assisted living facilities.
On Wednesday, 44,626 new COVID-19 cases in the state were announced.
The cumulative total COVID cases in the state is now at 1,193,504 since the start of the pandemic.
According to MDH's latest data available, 1,592 people are being treated for COVID in hospitals around the state, with 1,353 in non-ICU beds and 239 in the ICU.
Hospital bed space continues to be low across the state.
There are two staffed adult ICU bed available in northeastern Minnesota and zero staffed pediatric ICU beds in the central portion of the state.
MDH reported 9,048,375 total doses of vaccine have been administered in the state, with 3,810,423 people age 5 and older having received at least one shot (73.1%). Of that number 3,570,777 people have completed their COVID series and are considered completely vaccinated (68.5%).
Among children 5-11 years old, 179,494 kids have at least one shot (35%) and 142,325 have completed their vaccine series (28%).
8 a.m.
More than 100 nurses began arriving in Minnesota this week to help short-staffed hospitals trying to cope with the overwhelming impacts of COVID and the omicron variant.
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) secured the staffing support and will direct the nursing teams to hospitals identified by providers as most in need of help. The nurses will work up to 60 hours per week for 60 days to provide care for patients, and will be paid from a pool of $40 million in American Rescue Plan funding.
The first wave of nursing teams will start work at 23 hospitals this week. Another influx of 100 nurses will arrive in Minnesota in the days ahead to support even more healthcare facilities.