Heavy snow and difficult travel expected again, heaviest snow in southern Minnesota

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Minnesota’s newest COVID-19 numbers show more evidence of a rapidly ebbing surge. Key metrics continue to trend in the right direction, with new and active cases, positive test rates and hospital bed use all falling steadily.

An especially good sign Friday could be found in the Metropolitan Council’s latest batch of Twin Cities wastewater data: COVID concentrations this week were the lowest recorded since July, before the omicron mutation began whacking Minnesota.

Statewide, new daily cases are trending at their lowest point since around Halloween.

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Overall, there are around 17,000 active, confirmed COVID-19 cases in Minnesota. That’s down dramatically from mid-January, when active cases topped 67,000.

COVID-19 nearly broke Minnesota hospitals. Why?

Hospitalizations are still somewhat high — 801, with 126 people needing an intensive care bed — but the number have been dropping rapidly. A week ago, there were 1,052 COVID hospitalizations with 153 ICU patients. 

 the past two months as COVID cases and other rising health care needs grew rapidly.

Hospital bed use is falling particularly fast in the Twin Cities metro area, which took the initial hit from omicron and began recovering first.

Minnesota rural hospital workers feel the strain

Health officials continue to plead for vigilance against the disease, including masking in indoor public spaces, as the numbers are still somewhat high. In late June, Minnesota appeared to be through the worst of the pandemic, and then the omicron variant hit hard.

Says it will make more high-quality masks available for kids

The most recent map from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to show 

all Minnesota counties, except for Big Stone and Lincoln, with a high rate of viral transmission

“What we need to come to grips with is we’re not done with the virus. It’s not done with us,” Michael Osterholm head of the Center for Infections Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, 

The current wave, though, appears to be past its peak.

Minnesota’s positive test rate has been moving steadily downward, with sample data showing  positivity falling significantly back closer to the 5 percent threshold of concern for state health officials. With the delays in data reporting, it’s possible the state’s back below that level already.

The state's death toll stands at 11,961 including 31 newly reported deaths. Deaths typically follow a surge in cases and hospitalizations. In past COVID-19 waves, it’s been the last of the key metrics to improve. 

Thanks to vaccinations, Minnesota is better positioned now than during its fall 2020 and spring 2021 spikes: 78 percent of state residents age 12 and older have received at least one vaccination shot, with nearly 74 percent now completely vaccinated.

Officials say about 70 percent of Minnesota’s total population is now vaccinated with at least one shot, with two-thirds completely vaccinated.

You're not alone

The struggle continues to get first shots into more Minnesotans, especially in central Minnesota. 

And more booster questions, answered

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Minnesota’s newest COVID-19 numbers show more evidence of a rapidly ebbing surge. That includes Twin Cities wastewater, where COVID concentrations are at their the lowest since July. By late fall, the omicron mutation started whacking Minnesota.

A sign on the floor reads "Stay 6 feet from others."

Christine T. Nguyen | MPR News 2020

Graph of new COVID-19 cases per day in Minnesota

David H. Montgomery | MPR News

Active, confirmed COVID-19 cases in Minnesota

Graph showing COVID-19 hospitalizations by region

New COVID-19 related deaths reported in Minnesota each day

Graph showing total COVID-19 vaccinations by age

Map of Minnesota COVID-19 eligible vaccination rate

Latest on COVID-19 in MN: Wastewater, case counts signal pandemic retreat

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