Latest on COVID-19 in MN: Hospital needs fall, viral spread recedes
3 things to know:
313 hospitalized; 39 in ICU; hospitalizations falling quickly
Active case counts trending at lowest point since early August
Only about one-third of Minnesota counties showing high viral spread
Minnesota’s path out of the pandemic continues to brighten, with just over 300 COVID-19 patients in the hospital now and known, active cases trending at a seven-month low. The fall-winter surge appears to be mostly over.
The metrics haven’t yet hit their summer bottoms but are rapidly moving that way. The Minnesota Health Department on Friday reported fewer than 600 new cases per day over the last seven reporting days. Two weeks ago, the trend was running at about twice that rate.
Overall, there are about 4,700 active, confirmed COVID-19 cases in Minnesota. That’s down dramatically from mid-January, when active cases topped 67,000. The active count has stayed below 10,000 for 13 consecutive reporting days, the first time that’s happened since early August.
Hospitalizations are also falling rapidly — 313 people are currently in the hospital with COVID, with 39 needing an intensive care bed. ICU needs are the lowest since July. A month ago, state data showed 1,013 COVID hospitalizations with 150 ICU patients.
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Health officials continue to plead for vigilance against the disease. In late June, Minnesota appeared to be through the worst of the pandemic.
Twin Cities wastewater data from the Metropolitan Council shows a new version of COVID’s omicron strain increasing, along with a slight resurgence of the the delta variant. Still, it’s happening amid falling case counts and COVID levels.
The most recent map from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows significant improvement across the state, with only about a third of Minnesota counties currently reporting high viral transmission. Kittson, in far northwestern Minnesota, is the first county to return to a low level of virus transmission.
Local governments continue to lift indoor masking restrictions as COVID recedes. St. Paul, Minneapolis, Duluth and Rochester this week ended mask requirements inside city-owned buildings.
The state’s positive test rate has been moving steadily downward, with sample data showing positivity falling to around 3 percent, significantly below the 5 percent threshold state health officials find concerning.
Nine newly reported deaths put the state's death toll at 12,264. 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. Death rates have fallen in recent weeks.
Vaccinations have put Minnesota in a better position 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 74 percent now completely vaccinated.
Officials say roughly 70 percent of Minnesota’s total population is now vaccinated with at least one shot, with about two-thirds completely vaccinated.
