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Friday’s COVID-19 data continues to paint a picture of a receding pandemic in Minnesota, with new and active cases and hospital admissions trending at or near their April 2020 lows.

The one downside: The vaccination pace remains at a crawl. It will be mid-August before the state reaches its goal of getting at least one shot into 70 percent of residents 16 and older. Wide gaps remain between age groups and regions.

Public health officials are keeping watch now for any upticks in cases as the state nears June 28, marking one month since Minnesota 

ended all statewide COVID-19 capacity limits

 on bars, restaurants and other public gathering spaces. 

If the end of those restrictions generated more viral spread, it should start showing up in the data. So far, that hasn’t happened.

Analysis of COVID-19 data in Minnesota

How to get a COVID-19 shot in Minnesota

COVID-19 in Minnesota

Pandemic metrics hover near April 2020 lows

Known, active COVID-19 cases in Minnesota came in at 969 in Friday’s data, staying below 1,000 for the fifth consecutive reporting day, part of a stunning drop since May 1, when Minnesota had more than 15,000 active cases.

The state’s averaged about 110 newly reported cases a day over the past week. Both newly reported and active caseloads are hovering around lows reaching back to April 2020.

Receding caseloads mean fewer hospitalizations. The Health Department reported 107 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Minnesota; 27 needed an intensive care unit bed. ICU admissions are at their lowest since March 2020. 

Eleven newly reported deaths on Friday pushed Minnesota’s pandemic toll to 7,572. Among those who have died, about 59 percent had been living in long-term care or assisted living facilities; most had underlying health problems.

The state has recorded 604,971 total confirmed or probable cases so far in the pandemic, including the 111 posted Friday.

About 99 percent of Minnesotans known to be infected with COVID-19 in the pandemic have recovered to the point where they no longer need to isolate. 

Case counts had crept up across the state during April following a massive spike in late November and early December. Now, though, the numbers are low and falling in every age group and region.

People in their 20s still make up the age bracket with the state’s largest number of confirmed cases — about 112,000 since the pandemic began. 

Although young people are less likely to feel the worst effects of the disease and end up hospitalized, experts worry they can spread it unknowingly to older relatives and members of other vulnerable populations.

About teenagers and the COVID-19 vaccine in MN

Unvaccinated kids and updated mask guidance

More than 2.9 million residents 16 and older now have at least one vaccine dose. More than 2.7 million are completely vaccinated. That’s about 62.8 percent completely vaccinated and 66.6 percent with at least one shot, including 90 percent of people 65 and older. 

Add in the more than 103,000 12-to-15-year-olds with at least one dose and Minnesota has topped 3 million residents with one or more shots. More than half the state’s total population is now completely vaccinated.

The vaccination pace, however, is sputtering. At the current rate, it will be mid-August before the state reaches 70 percent of adults with at least one shot, a goal public health leaders once hoped could by reached by the end of June.

, with most counties outside the Twin Cities region still below 70 percent. 

As cases decline, 3 COVID-19 testing sites are closing:

 Cases, hospitalizations and deaths are all abating, and so is demand for COVID-19 testing. State officials are shuttering three Twin Cities COVID-19 testing sites as a result.

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 

Tracking the vaccination progress in the U.S.

Full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic

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With new and active cases and hospital admissions trending at or near their April 2020 lows, Minnesota’s most recent COVID-19 data continues to paint a picture of a receding pandemic. Vaccinations, however, are stuck at crawl.

A woman in PPE stands at a table with medical equipment.

Paul Middlestaedt for MPR News 

Graph showing total COVID-19 vaccinations by age

David H. Montgomery | MPR News

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

Graph showing when Minnesota is on target to vaccinated 70% of adults

Map of Minnesota COVID-19 eligible vaccination rate

June 25 update on COVID-19 in MN: Hospitalizations fall; vaccinations stall

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