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Minnesota’s vaccination pace is firmly on the upswing now after weeks of tripping along. But active COVID-19 cases and intensive care needs are climbing higher, too, reinforcing the urgency to vaccinate people quickly enough to head off another surge.

The Health Department on Wednesday reported about 48,000 new vaccinations, pushing the seven-day trend to nearly 51,000 shots daily — the highest since vaccinations began in late December.

are fully inoculated while more than 1.6 million have received at least one dose, including about 81 percent of residents age 65 and older.

Minnesota making all adults eligible for vaccine

Find a COVID-19 vaccine in Minnesota

Officials remain anxious about rising caseloads tied to the U.K. COVID-19 variant and to youth sports. They’ve confirmed more than 500 cases of the U.K. strain in recent weeks and believe that as many half the state’s new cases may be tied to that variant.

Wednesday’s data also shows the state’s positive test rate trending for a second day above 5 percent — a warning sign about a possible surge. 

The good news is that many of the state’s highest-risk residents, including seniors, have received at least one dose already and Minnesota expects to see its federal vaccine supply shipments jump starting in April. 

Officials have described the current situation, though, as race against time to vaccinate before the COVID-19 variants can get a stronger foothold in the state.

Tracking cases in Minnesota

From across Minnesota

From MPR News

Analysis of COVID-19 data in Minnesota

ICU cases up; regional hot spots concerning

Warning lights are flashing around Minnesota’s COVID-19 disease data.

The number of known, active cases has been trending upward over the past few weeks, with 13,286 active cases as of Wednesday’s report, marking 13 consecutive days with active counts above 10,000, a stretch not seen since January. 

While still low compared to late November and early December, the rising trend is notable given the worries over the rise of the U.K. COVID-19 strain, which state health officials suspect is driving the current upswing. 

Hospitalizations are low compared to the late-fall surge, but those counts have been edging higher. The latest Health Department data showed 411 people with COVID-19 in Minnesota hospitals; 102 needed intensive care — the highest ICU needs and hospitalizations since late January.

What to know about Minnesota's latest COVID dial-back

Twelve deaths reported on Wednesday raised Minnesota’s overall pandemic death toll to 6,848. Among those who’ve died, about 62 percent had been living in long-term care or assisted living facilities; most had underlying health problems. 

The state has recorded 519,529 total confirmed or probable cases so far in the pandemic, including 1,660 posted Wednesday. About 96 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.

Regionally, all parts of Minnesota are in better shape than they were in late November and early December. 

The latest numbers, however, show cases are up sharply in every age group except the oldest, and in almost every region of the state.

Here’s what to do

Public health leaders continue to keep watch on clusters in the southwest Twin Cities metro area — specifically Carver and Scott counties — as well as the Mankato area and the eastern Iron Range, centered around the town of Aurora. There’s also been a recent outbreak in Ely, northeast of Aurora.

People in their 20s still make up the age bracket with the state’s largest number of confirmed cases — more than 97,000 since the pandemic began, including more than 51,000 among those ages 20 to 24.

The number of high school-age youth confirmed with the disease has also grown, with more than 41,000 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 they will spread it unknowingly to older relatives and members of other vulnerable populations. Those with the coronavirus can spread it when they don’t have symptoms. 

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

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.

COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. by race, ethnicity

, 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.

Officials have acknowledged that distrust by communities of color has been a problem during the pandemic. They’ve offered up some data on 

vaccinations broken down by race and ethnicity

Jan Malcolm, the state health commissioner, has said the state is 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. 

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 

MN health officials: Vaccinated assisted living residents may dine together again

The Minnesota Department of Health has clarified guidance for assisted living facilities around dining and activities. 

The Health Department says fully vaccinated residents in assisted living may dine together and participate in activities closer than 6 feet, though they should keep wearing masks when appropriate.

The new guidance comes as COVID-19 cases in assisted living facilities have dropped and vaccinations among residents have risen. People are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after their first dose of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine or their second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.

The new guidance doesn't affect nursing homes, which have to follow guidance set by the federal government.

Students of color disproportionately choosing distance learning: 

In-person learning options are now widely available in Minnesota. But students of color — especially Asian American students — are choosing to remain in distance learning at higher rates than white students. 

Two Tims — Govs. Walz and Pawlenty — get COVID shots side by side: 

Gov. Tim Walz was joined by former Gov. Tim Pawlenty to get vaccinated for COVID-19 Tuesday at the Minnesota Vikings training facility in Eagan.

3 things to know if you're newly eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine in Minnesota: 

State health officials are cautioning that the expansion won't mean that vaccine doses will be immediately available to everyone who's eligible.

How to get a COVID-19 vaccine in Minnesota

Tracking the vaccination progress in the U.S.

Full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic

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The state’s vaccination pace is firmly on the upswing after plateauing for several weeks. But active COVID-19 cases are trending higher, too, and intensive care needs are at their highest level in more than two months.

A man holds a woman's shoulders as she gets a shot.

Evan Frost | MPR News

Newly reported COVID-19 vaccine doses in Minnesota

David H. Montgomery | MPR News

Graph projecting when most Minnesotans will get vaccinated

Active, confirmed COVID-19 cases in Minnesota

Graph of new ICU and non-ICU COVID-19 hospitalizations

New COVID-19 related deaths reported in Minnesota each day

New Minnesota COVID-19 cases by age, adjusted for population

March 31 update on COVID-19 in MN: Vaccination pace jumps; ICU, active cases climb

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