June 28 update on COVID-19 in MN: Daily cases remain under 100 per day
3 things to know
Average daily case counts remain below 100
State averaging around 10,000 vaccine shots a day
66.8 percent of residents 16 and older have at least one vaccine shot; 63.5 percent completely vaccinated
Updated: 11:56 a.m.
The trend of new COVID-19 cases in Minnesota remained under a 100-per-day average Monday after reaching the milestone over the weekend.
That's down from nearly 500 cases a day a month ago, more than 1,600 a day two months ago — and more than 7,000 a day at the peak of the pandemic last November.
A slight increase in vaccinations reported moved the seven-day average for vaccinations to just over 10,000 shots per day. That’s following the weekend when Minnesota recorded falling below the 10,000 shots, the lowest level seen since the earliest weeks of the vaccination effort.
At the current pace, 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.
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Pandemic metrics hover near April 2020 lows
Known, active COVID-19 cases in Minnesota dropped to 816 in Monday’s data, staying below 1,000 for the eighth consecutive reporting day. It’s part of a stunning drop since May 1, when Minnesota had more than 15,000 active cases.
Receding caseloads mean fewer hospitalizations. As of Monday, the Health Department reported 98 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Minnesota, the first time hospitalizations have been fewer than 100 since the department started recording this data a year ago.
Of those hospitalized, 27 needed an intensive care unit bed. ICU admissions are at their lowest since March 2020.
Five newly reported deaths on Monday pushed Minnesota’s pandemic toll to 7,587. 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 605,218 total confirmed or probable cases so far in the pandemic, including the 82 posted Monday.
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.
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.
3 million vaccinated, but pace crawls
Almost 3 million residents 16 and older now have at least one vaccine dose. About 2.8 million are completely vaccinated. That’s about 63 percent completely vaccinated and close to 67 percent with at least one shot, including 90 percent of people 65 and older.
Add in the nearly 105,400 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 — now barely averaging 10,000 shots a day. That average had exceeded 60,000 a day at the peak in April.
Minnesota’s also seeing big regional gaps in vaccination rates, with most counties outside the Twin Cities region still below 70 percent of adults vaccinated.
Developments around the state
More state-run testing sites closing
Six more state-run COVID-19 testing sites in Minnesota will end operations this week.
The community testing sites in Albert Lea, Crookston, and Wadena all close on Tuesday. Locations in Chisholm, Hutchinson and Morris will stop testing on Wednesday. That follows the closure of three sites in the Twin Cities last week.
As the number of new COVID-19 cases falls in Minnesota, state officials say they've seen a decrease in demand for testing. The rate of tests coming back positive has fallen below 1 percent, mirroring statistics only seen in April 2020.
Seven state-run sites will remain open. The sites in St. Cloud, Duluth, Brooklyn Park, Mankato, Moorhead and Winona, and at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, will all operate most weekdays. Free testing also remains available at pharmacies, clinics and other regional locations.
— Laurel Poole | MPR News
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.