COVID In Minnesota: 11 More Deaths Reported In Last Day; Positivity Up To 6.1%
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO/AP) -- According to the latest figures from the Minnesota Department of Health, 11 more deaths due to COVID-19, and another 1,839 positive cases have been reported in the last 24 hours. This comes from about 30,687 processed tests.
So far, 642,288 have tested positive for COVID in Minnesota since the start of the pandemic, and there have been 7,793 deaths.
Overall, the latest figures of those hospitalized show 165 Minnesotans in ICU with COVID, compared to fewer than 20 about six weeks ago. There are an additional 419 reported hospitalizations for COVID in the state. The figures show an average of 9.2 new daily hospitalizations per 100,000 residents, which is above the line for high risk.
ICU beds remain close to fully filled in the Twin Cities metro area, and southeastern Minnesota. At latest check, 97.5% of ICU beds in the metro area were currently in use. The situation is almost as bad in southeastern Minnesota, where only 14 beds are still open (or 6.3%). The Twin Cities metro area shows 17 ICU beds still available, along with 48 non-ICU beds, which accounts for 1.3% of the area's capacity.
The health department reports that the rolling average positivity rate is now at 6.1%. That's above the line for caution (which is 5%), though positivity rate's growth shows signs of growing slower after some weeks of significant jumps day-over-day.
There are also a reported 23.9 daily new cases per 100,000 Minnesota residents, which puts the state well above the line considered high risk. The state spent the early part of summer well below the line of caution, which is drawn at five new cases daily per 100,000 residents.
As of Thursday morning, figures from the Minnesota Department of Health showed that about 71.3% of Minnesotans 16 or older had received at least one dose, and 92.7% of those 65 or older had received at least one dose. In total, the state has administered 6,123,627 doses of vaccine, with more than 3.08 million residents having completed their vaccine series.