COVID In Minnesota: 5 More Deaths Reported, With Hospitalizations Still Trending Up
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A number of Minnesota cities, counties and businesses are now asking people to wear masks, including Minneapolis and St. Paul. And more hospitals and care facilities are requiring people to be vaccinated as well.
On Wednesday, Minnesota's health department released its latest virus figures showing 936 more cases and five new deaths confirmed in the last 24 hours. Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 615,923 positive cases and 7,683 deaths.
Hospitalization figures are still showing significant gains day-over-day. The latest figures of those hospitalized show 81 Minnesotans in ICU, compared to fewer than 20 on July 15. There are an additional 187 reported hospitalizations for COVID in the state. The figures show an average of 4.5 new daily hospitalizations per 100,000 residents, which is above the line of caution.
The health department reports that the rolling average positivity rate is now at 4%. While that's below the line for caution (which is 5%), the positivity rate for the last few days indicates that we may actually be at or above that threshold. There are also a reported 8.5 daily new cases per 100,000 Minnesota residents, which puts the state above the line of caution; 10 cases per 100,000 is considered high risk.
As of Wednesday morning, the latest figures from the Minnesota Department of Health showed that about 69.1% of Minnesotans 16 or older had received at least one dose, and 91.9% of those 65 or older had received at least one dose. In total, the state has administered 5,932,301 doses of vaccine, and has also topped 3 million residents having completed their vaccine series.
Also on Wednesday, eligible Minnesotans who received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on July 30 or later can now submit their requests for the $100 vaccination rewards program.