COVID-19 In MN: Latest Positivity Rate Nears 'High Risk' Threshold
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A day after warning that COVID-19 case numbers are among the highest seen this year, Minnesota health officials reported 7,173 additional cases and 20 more deaths.
The Tuesday update from the Minnesota Department of Health contains data from over the weekend and is current as of Monday morning. There have now been 826,404 total positive cases recorded in the state since the pandemic began, with over 8,800 of those cases being reinfections.
As for the death toll, 8,882 total deaths have now been attributed to COVID-19 in Minnesota. One of the 20 newly reported deaths involved a person in their late 40s in Ramsey County; 17 of the deaths were in November.
In hospitals as of Monday, there were over 1,100 patients being treated for COVID-19. Nearly 250 of them need intensive care unit beds. Over 42,000 COVID-19 cases have required hospitalization.
Meanwhile, the positivity rate in Minnesota continues to spike and the latest figure stands at 9.1%, which is nearing the state's "high risk" threshold at 10%. The state's case growth and hospitalization rate are also on an upward trend.
"Recent numbers are among the highest we've seen so far in 2021," MDH said Monday. "Sadly, the pandemic is far from over. It's important to get vaccinated, wear a mask in public, get tested when needed, and stay home if you're sick."
MDH says newly reported cases from Tuesday do not include cases awaiting intake processing.
"Over the past weekend COVID-19 case growth exceeded intake capacity, resulting in a temporary backlog. We are taking steps to increase staff capacity, but we anticipate this backlog will impact newly reported cases for the next few days," MDH said.
At this point, 67.1% of those ages 5 years old and up have received at least one vaccine dose. In the 5- to 11-year-old age group, which is the most recently approved group to get the vaccine, 9,442 children have received at least one dose.
Over 7.1 million vaccine doses have been administered.