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Minnesota health officials reported 22 more confirmed COVID-19 deaths and 526 more confirmed cases on Saturday, while the state saw its third straight day with more than 10,000 completed tests.

The deaths reported Saturday included the youngest confirmed COVID-19 fatality to date in Minnesota — someone in their 20s from Ramsey County. No further details were immediately available. 

Fourteen of the 22 deaths reported Saturday were people who had been living in long-term care facilities.

Minnesota's death toll from COVID-19 is now at least 1,170, with more than 27,000 confirmed cases.

Saturday's report from the state health department noted 11,144 completed tests.

Hospitalizations continued a downward trend in Saturday's report, at 473 — compared to 589 a week earlier. The number of COVID-19 patients being treated in ICUs also has been declining over the past week.

More than 22,000 people who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in Minnesota have recovered to the point where they no longer need to be isolated.

Saturday’s report comes after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Friday announced a further loosening of restrictions on businesses and other aspects of society during the coronavirus pandemic, beginning next week. 

The changes are set to take effect on Wednesday.

With the loosened restrictions, the Mall of America, which has been closed since mid-March due to coronavirus concerns, will reopen Wednesday. Mall executives had intended to reopen June 1 but changed plans following the May 25 killing of George Floyd.

Earlier this week, restaurants were allowed to resume table service but only at reduced capacity and for outdoor diners. Hair salons, barbershops, tattoo parlors and other personal services businesses also reopened for limited appointments. 

In recent weeks, religious institutions received permission to resume worship services, weddings and funerals to small audiences. The next phase could expand the ability of those entities and others to serve more people in more settings.

Youth sports leagues were also awaiting word on when they could start games. Some resumed practices with social distancing protocols in anticipation of getting back on the field for competition.

Officials continued their plea to Minnesotans to continue staying 6 feet apart, wear masks and stay home if you feel ill.

“We are not going back to normal,”cautioned Steve Grove, commissioner of employment and economic development as he praised businesses for the sacrifices they’ve made in the COVID-19 era. “We’re continuing to ask for personal responsibility in the next phase.”

State Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm indicated the recent patterns of cases and hospitalizations in Minnesota are showing “a plateau with small waves within in,” calling it an “encouragingly stable” situation. 

“Statewide, we're in good shape for critical care capacity,” she added.

She cautioned, though, that the protests over George Floyd’s killing may have boosted the disease spread. It will take a few weeks to find out. But she expressed confidence that the state was positioned to handle the pandemic without it overwhelming the case system.

Grove heard concerns Friday from lawmakers of both parties about economic despair in their communities from restaurant closures to business loans that will come due.

“We need your help,” Rep. Dave Lislegard, DFL-Aurora, pleaded with Grove, voicing criticism about outdoor seating as the only option for restaurants struggling to get by.

Patrick and Alissa Horan, who own the Sawmill Saloon and Restaurant in Lislegard’s district, said they had to put in a $20,000 temporary deck to prepare for that. But they said it’s not a sustainable business model, with sales down 90 percent since the March closures.

“I know the restaurant and bar industry has been absolutely brutalized,” Alissa Horan said. “Up here, we are ready to open.”

Grove assured lawmakers the governor was moving toward relaxing restrictions in a way that will guard against coronavirus flare-ups.“We know that without moving 

, we will have an increasing number of businesses that will cease to exist and not have the jobs that are there for workers,” Grove said. 

Rep. Tony Juergens, R-Cottage Grove, said gyms are at risk of going under unless they can let people back in, even with reduced capacity. Wedding venues and caterers in his district have seen a season of business evaporate, he said.

“Their inventory is available dates,” Juergens said. “And if a bride pushes her wedding until next year, that’s inventory the venue can’t sell. It’s lost.”

Grove said the fallout “is real and it is painful,” but he disagreed that the public health decisions that sparked the closures have been flawed. 

He said the outbreak would have been worse without them and the road back must be carefully plotted out to bolster confidence “so that customers actually show up and that we don’t see hot spots or spikes that force us to shut things back down. That would be even more devastating for our economy.”

Health officials remain concerned that mass demonstrations in the wake of George Floyd’s death in police custody will cause a spike in cases. They have urged anyone who participated in a protest to seek a test.

Malcolm said her department has made clear to providers around the state that people involved in demonstrations or any following cleanup efforts should be tested for COVID-19 — even if they have no symptoms. 

She urged people to get tested right away if they have symptoms. If they don’t, she said, they should wait five to seven days after they participated in a protest or cleanup effort to get tested.

And if their test result is negative, but they suspect they were exposed, Malcolm encouraged people to get retested around 12 days after they think they were exposed. 

Malcolm added that the state should start to see the impact of the state’s efforts to reopen in about a week.

The fact that people without symptoms of the illness can still be spreading the virus continues to be among the biggest challenges, said Kris Ehresmann, the state’s infectious disease director.

“There is a big role for asymptomatic transmission,” and it’s hard to identify who those people are, she said.

Massive protests raise fears of new virus outbreaks

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Many of the outbreaks outside the Twin Cities metro area are focused around meatpacking plants. Officials have intensified testing in those hot spots, uncovering more infections.

In southwestern Minnesota’s Nobles County, where an outbreak hit Worthington’s massive JBS pork plant, about 1 in 15 people have tested positive for COVID-19. In mid-April, there were just a handful of cases. By Friday, there were 1,577 confirmed cases, although the numbers are rising at a much slower rate than in previous weeks.

 with expanded hygiene and health monitoring measures.

, where COVID-19 cases tied to two packing plants — Pilgrim’s Pride poultry plant in Cold Spring and Jennie-O Turkey in Melrose — skyrocketed in May.

An undisclosed number of workers at both plants have tested positive for the virus. There were about 55 confirmed cases in Stearns County in early May. By Friday, confirmed cases were at 2,056 with 14 deaths.

Kandiyohi County in west-central Minnesota is also seeing cases continue to climb more than a month after officials with the Jennie-O turkey processing plant there said some employees had tested positive for the coronavirus. The county had confirmed three COVID-19 cases then.

On Friday, the Health Department reported 514 people have now tested positive in the county. 

While the counts in those counties are high relative to their population, officials say the growth in new cases in those areas appears to be stabilizing.

Mower County in southern Minnesota, another county with a large meatpacking presence, is becoming a hot spot. 

Mower County has jumped the past few weeks, reporting a total of 446 positive COVID-19 cases now with two deaths. The 

 two meat plants in Austin, Minn., are seeing COVID-19 cases rise rapidly.

Beware of contact-tracing scams, MN officials warn

The state is warning Minnesotans to be on alert for text scams related to contact tracing of COVID-19.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, scammers are targeting people via text, saying that someone they know has tested positive for coronavirus and that they should click on a link for more information.

Some texts ask people to download software on to their phone, while others seek information like Social Security numbers and banking information. 

Contact tracing is the practice of figuring out who someone who has tested positive for coronavirus has been in contact with. It's a strategy meant to mitigate the spread of the virus.

The state is encouraging people who get these texts to report them to the FBI.

U of M study: Hydroxychloroquine can’t prevent coronavirus infection

A new University of Minnesota study shows hydroxychloroquine is not able to prevent the development of COVID-19 better than a placebo. 

The results of the first randomized clinical trial of the drug will be published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers also found that 40 percent of the trial participants taking hydroxychloroquine developed nonserious side effects like nausea and diarrhea. 

However, the trial found no cardiac complications from taking the drug, which is typically used for lupus. 

The trial included 821 people in the United States and in Canada who had been exposed to someone with the virus, either members of their household or in their work as a health care worker or first responder. 

President Donald Trump has touted the drug as a treatment for coronavirus, despite warnings from medical professionals that there was no research to back up his claims.

Data in these graphs are based off Minnesota Department of Health cumulative totals released at 11 a.m. daily. You can find more detailed statistics on COVID-19 at the 

The coronavirus is transmitted through respiratory droplets, coughs and sneezes, similar to the way the flu can spread.

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Minnesota and the Upper Midwest

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Government and medical leaders are urging people to wash their hands frequently and well, refrain from touching their faces, cover their coughs, disinfect surfaces and avoid large crowds, all in an effort to curb the virus’ rapid spread.

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Minnesota health officials reported 22 more confirmed COVID-19 deaths and 526 more confirmed cases on Saturday, just one day after Gov. Tim Walz announced further loosening of restrictions on businesses and other aspects of society during the coronavirus pandemic beginning next week. 

Kerem Yücel for MPR News

MN counties with the fastest per-capita growth in COVID-19 cases

June 6 update on COVID-19 in MN: 22 more deaths reported; confirmed cases surpass 27,000

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