Aug. 16 update on COVID-19 in MN: State passes 65,000 cases; hospitalizations drop
Minnesota reported 754 more confirmed COVID-19 cases on Sunday, pushing the total past 65,000, as the death toll in the state surpassed 1,700.
The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Minnesota dropped below 300 for the first time in more than two weeks — though the number of those patients being treated in ICUs increased. Those most-serious cases — 152 — now account for more than half of the 290 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19.
Six of the seven deaths reported Sunday by the Minnesota Department of Health were residents of long-term care facilities. Residents of those facilities account for 1,279 of the 1,706 deaths reported in Minnesota.
Taking a broader look at the numbers, the seven-day rolling average of new cases has been trending down over the past week, while testing has been increasing slightly faster than case counts.
Create a More Connected Minnesota
MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.
State health officials reported that more than 58,000 people diagnosed with COVID-19 in Minnesota have recovered to the point where they no longer need to be isolated.
Here are the latest COVID-19 statistics:
1,706 deaths
65,152 positive cases (754 new), 58,196 off isolation
290 still hospitalized, 152 in ICUs
1,254,208 tests, 994,054 people tested
Officials on Friday also put out a warning for people to not ingest hand sanitizing liquids and not to use sanitizers that contain methanol or 1-propanol, saying they can be toxic and life threatening if ingested.
Dr. Ruth Lynfield, the state’s epidemiologist, said the state’s poison control center has received 50 calls involving sanitizers that were not safe to use — 14 of the calls involved youth age 19 or younger.
The federal Food and Drug Administration has a website now devoted to spotting unsafe sanitizers.
Cases grow up north
Regionally, the Twin Cities and its suburbs have been driving the counts of newly reported cases, although northern Minnesota cases have been on the rise for weeks and there’s an upswing now in southern Minnesota.
Several of the state’s fastest-growing outbreaks relative to population are in northern Minnesota. Beltrami County, home to Bemidji, has seen a steady climb the past few weeks. The county reported 271 cases as of Sunday.
Meatpacking operations had been hot spots for big outbreaks in southwest, west-central and central Minnesota earlier in the pandemic.
New cases have slowed considerably in recent weeks, although the problem has resurfaced recently in McLeod County (260 cases), where more than 20 employees at a Seneca Foods plant in Glencoe have been identified in an outbreak.
Developments from around the state
Mayo Clinic: Plasma efforts show promise
Researchers with a national program led by Mayo Clinic say they've made two key findings in using plasma to treat people with COVID-19.
The so-called convalescent plasma comes from people who have recovered from the disease. The program included more than 35,000 hospitalized patients.
Researchers say starting plasma transfusions sooner — within three days of a COVID-19 diagnosis — was associated with a lower mortality rate. That rate also dropped for patients who received plasma with higher antibody levels.
Mayo officials noted that it was not a clinical trial and has not yet been peer reviewed, but they say the findings may help inform future trials for COVID-19 treatments.
— MPR News Staff
School guidance map shifts with new data
Fresh data released by the Minnesota Department of Health is again shifting the guidance for some of the state’s school districts as they decide whether to teach kids in-person, online or in some combination based on their local COVID-19 conditions.
The new numbers, for instance, indicate elementary school students in Ramsey and Dakota counties would no longer be recommended to attend school in person — if school started this week — due to rising COVID-19 cases.
Data released Thursday by the Health Department indicate 11 counties, including Ramsey and Dakota, should shift away from in-person learning because of rising cases.
Schools in another 14 counties, largely in the southern part of the state, would be recommended to shift toward in-person learning. The state’s other 62 counties saw no change in their recommendations, which are based on COVID-19 cases per capita over a 14-day period.
Officials have emphasized the map is meant to be a starting point for school districts as they weigh their mix of in-person and online instruction in the COVID-19 era. The numbers, and the accompanying recommendations, are updated every week now.
Counties with very few cases per capita are recommended to have in-person learning for all students — 48 counties as of Thursday.
With more cases, schools are urged to have secondary students do a mix of in-person and distance learning while still doing in-person school for elementary grades. Another 29 counties fall into that category.
Eight counties are currently recommended for hybrid learning for all students. They include Hennepin, Ramsey, Dakota, Scott, Sherburne and Blue Earth.
Two counties have so many cases that the state currently recommends upper-grade students there study remotely full-time: Rock County in southwestern Minnesota, and Red Lake County in northwestern Minnesota.
Officials have stressed that the county-level data is a roadmap, not an order. Districts within those counties are making decisions that may not fit exactly with the data.
St. Paul Public Schools, the state’s second largest school district and the largest district in Ramsey County, has already announced it will start the school year with all students distance learning and will revisit the decision in late September.
— David H. Montgomery | MPR News
Top headlines
Professors say they worry about students and their families: Universities and colleges have different plans for returning to teaching this fall, and there are specific needs for many classroom settings. As faculty and instructors prepare to teach, they worry about their students and their families.
What does a COVID-19 ‘positivity rate’ really mean? One of the most important metrics for tracking the spread of COVID-19 in Minnesota is the “positivity rate” — or how prevalent positive cases of the disease are, when compared to the number of tests being done. Our data reporter takes a deep dive in explaining what’s behind the number.
COVID-19 in Minnesota
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 Health Department website.
The coronavirus is transmitted through respiratory droplets, coughs and sneezes, similar to the way the flu can spread.