March 13 update on COVID-19 in MN: 'Normalcy' finally within reach?
Updated: 2 p.m.
3 things to know:
Walz unveils a major pullback on the state’s remaining daily life restrictions
Nearly 22 percent of Minnesotans with at least 1 vaccine dose
More than 12 percent of state residents have completed vaccinations
If you’re a Minnesotan waiting for a COVID-19 vaccine shot and hoping for a return to pre-pandemic life, this was a pretty good week. Restrictions are easing. The vaccination pace is up and officials expect it will only accelerate.
Here are Minnesota’s current COVID-19 statistics:
6,741 deaths (4 new)
496,395 positive cases; 97 percent off isolation
21.7 percent of Minnesotans with at least 1 dose
73.7 percent 65 and older with at least 1 dose
While there’s been an uptick recently in known, active COVID-19 cases, conditions are improving to the point where Gov. Tim Walz on Friday unveiled a major pullback on the state’s remaining COVID-19 curbs, expanding gatherings in bars, restaurants, sports and other venues.
On top of that, the University of Minnesota said all of its campuses are planning to return to fully on-campus operations this fall. The U Twin Cities is the region’s largest college campus, so it’s likely other schools may follow its lead.
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.
The governor said people can start planning for events like spring weddings and summer camps and that people should be good to go to plan to be part of the open-water fishing opener in May.
“We’re beating this thing. We are going to win. It may not be the end but it’s sure the beginning of the end,” Walz said in remarks Friday. “Normalcy is on the horizon.”
Inoculation progress
Vaccinations are big part of the optimism. Right now the progress is somewhat slow but steady.
The Health Department on Saturday reported more than 60,000 new vaccinations — among the highest single-day totals so far. The seven-day trend remained at more than 42,000 shots daily, near the highest level reported since vaccinations began in late December.
Agency data shows more than 683,000 people — 12.3 percent of the state’s population — have completed their vaccinations, while more than 1.2 million — about 21.7 percent — had received at least one dose, including more than 73 percent of people age 65 and older.
Because doses are shipped once a week, the state often sees its vaccination counts jump from Thursday through Sunday.
Officials continue to urge Minnesotans to stay vigilant against the disease, wearing masks in public gathering spaces and socially distancing. Concern continues to bubble around an ongoing outbreak of COVID-19 in Carver County that includes the worrisome U.K. strain.
State public health leaders have described their push to vaccinate Minnesotans as a race against another possible surge in the disease. Walz on Friday said he hoped another 700,000 Minnesotans could get a vaccine dose by April 1.
Pandemic metrics mostly stable; active cases up
The state’s COVID-19 data shows disease conditions remain mostly stable, although there has been a noticeable increase recently in the number of known, active cases. That count rose again, to 8,487 on Saturday — the highest it's been in more than a month.
While the overall trend remains flat and current counts are still very low compared to late November and early December, the increase is notable given the concerns about the rise of the U.K. COVID-19 strain in Minnesota.
Hospitalization rates remain at levels last seen before the late-fall surge in cases: 240 people were hospitalized with the disease as of Thursday with 66 needing intensive care.
Four newly reported deaths brought Minnesota’s collective pandemic death toll to 6,741. Among those who’ve died, about 63 percent had been living in long-term care or assisted living facilities; most had underlying health problems.
The state has recorded 496,395 total confirmed or probable cases so far in the pandemic, including 1,191 posted Saturday. About 97 percent of Minnesotans known to be infected with COVID-19 in the pandemic have recovered to the point where they no longer need to be isolated.
Cases spread across age groups, regions
People in their 20s still make up the age bracket with the state’s largest number of confirmed cases — more than 93,000 since the pandemic began, including nearly 49,000 among those ages 20 to 24.
The number of high school-age youth confirmed with the disease has also grown, with more than 39,000 total cases among those ages 15 to 19 since the pandemic began.
With kids increasingly returning to school buildings and sports, Minnesota public health officials are urging Minnesota families with children to get tested every two weeks for COVID-19 now until the end of the school year.
Although young people are less likely to feel the worst effects of the disease and end up hospitalized, experts worry youth will spread it unknowingly to older relatives and members of other vulnerable populations.
People can have the coronavirus and spread COVID-19 when they don’t have symptoms.
Regionally, all parts of Minnesota are in significantly better shape than they were in late November and early December. Some areas are seeing upticks in cases.
Caseloads still heaviest among people of color
In Minnesota and across the country, COVID-19 has hit communities of color disproportionately hard in both cases and deaths. That’s been especially true for Minnesotans of Hispanic descent for much of the pandemic.
Even as new case counts continue to track well below their late November, early December peaks, the data shows Latino people continue to be hit hard.
Distrust of the government, together with deeply rooted health and economic disparities, have hampered efforts to boost testing among communities of color, officials say, especially among unauthorized immigrants who fear their personal information may be used to deport them.
Walz has acknowledged that distrust by communities of color has been a problem during the pandemic. Officials last week offered up some data on vaccinations broken down by race and ethnicity. The state is expected to update the data weekly.
Minnesota Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said the state was committed to doing more to expand vaccine access to people of color, including getting more doses to community pharmacies, partnering with local groups and deploying mobile vaccination clinics.
COVID-19 in Minnesota
Data in these graphs are based on the Minnesota Department of Health's cumulative totals released at 11 a.m. daily. You can find more detailed statistics on COVID-19 at the Health Department website.
Latest developments
More pharmacies in Minnesota administering COVID vaccine
Gov. Tim Walz announced Saturday that CVS Health and Goodrich Pharmacy have been added to the expanding network of pharmacies vaccinating Minnesotans across the state.
Minnesota now has five pharmacies with dozens of locations participating in the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program, which is a collaboration between the federal government, states and territories, and 21 national pharmacy partners and independent pharmacy networks. Other pharmacies and health care providers are providing vaccinations through the state.
Three CVS in-store pharmacies at Target stores in Duluth, Rochester and Eden Prairie will receive 3,510 vaccine doses this week, according to the governor's office. Goodrich Pharmacy in the north Twin Cities metro will receive 1,170 vaccine doses this week.
“As vaccine supply from the federal government continues to increase, we’re building the path so getting your COVID-19 vaccine can be as easy as making an appointment online and walking into your local CVS at Target or pharmacy,” Walz said in a news release. “We will continue to mobilize every option we have to get more life-saving shots into more arms as quickly as possible and end this pandemic together.”
Appointments at CVS and Goodrich Pharmacy will become available in the coming days, and the locations and contact information for scheduling appointments will be accessible on the Vaccine Locator and Vaccine Connector websites when the information becomes available.
— Associated Press and MPR News staff
Top headlines
Walz OKs larger gatherings, fans at Twins games: The governor’s latest pullback will allow people to gather in larger groups indoors and outdoors, while bars and restaurants will be able to serve at 75 percent capacity.
President Biden calls for all American adults to be eligible for vaccines by May 1: President Joe Biden is aiming for the country to begin to find a degree of normalcy and begin to move on from the coronavirus pandemic by the July 4th holiday, Biden announced in his first prime-time address Thursday night from the White House on the one-year anniversary of the pandemic.
Visitation rules easing in Minnesota's long-term care facilities: That’s after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid released new guidance this week that allows for residents to receive visitors more widely than has been possible during most of the pandemic.