COVID In Minnesota: 92 More Deaths Reported Ahead Of Extended Restrictions Announcement
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Two hours before Gov. Tim Walz was expected to extend the pause on indoor dining in Minnesota, health officials reported on Wednesday 2,279 new cases of COVID-19 and 92 more deaths, tying the third-highest daily death count on record.
The latest update from the Minnesota Department of Health puts the state's overall case total at 386,412 since the start of the pandemic. The newly reported fatalities bring the state's death toll to 4,575. More than 65% of the state's COVID-19 victims have been residents in long-term care facilities, such as nursing homes. Of the most recent deaths, 54 of the victims were in long-term care.
In Minnesota hospitals, 1,277 people are battling the virus as of Tuesday, with 304 people in intensive care. So far this month, hospitalizations have gradually fallen from record highs reached in late November. At its peak on Nov. 19, the state's seven-day average hospitalization rate per 100,000 residents was a at 36.5. That figure has dropped to 26.8 as of last week.
RELATED: 1st Doses Of Vaccine Officially Administered In The State
The drop in hospitalizations is happening as the first doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 are being administered in Minnesota. On Monday, the first refrigerated boxes arrived in the state, and on Tuesday the first nurses in the Twin Cities began receiving the injections. More than 180,000 doses of the vaccine are expected to reach Minnesota in the coming weeks. Still, health officials say it'll likely be months until the doses are generally available.
While the testing rate has fallen since last month, Minnesota is continuing to encourage testing and open testing sites. In the last 24 hours, nearly 20,000 tests were processed for Minnesotans. Since the start of the outbreak, nearly 2.8 million people have been tested for the virus in Minnesota. Of those who were positive, 356,384 have recovered and no longer need to self-isolate.
RELATED: More Than 150 Businesses Plan To Reopen As Soon As Wednesday In Defiance Of Governor's Order
At 1:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Walz will announce an extension of the state's dial-back restrictions. The current set of a restrictions, which were put in place four weeks ago, stopped indoor dining, indoor workouts at gyms and fitness centers, youth sports, and limited social gatherings. The new restrictions will extend the pause on indoor dining through the end of the year. Other details have yet to be announced. (You can watch the press conference live on CBSN Minnesota).
In response to the coming extension of restrictions, hundreds of businesses say they plan to reopen this week in defiance of the order. It's not yet clear how the state will respond, but Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is urging businesses to comply.
"You're putting people at risk," he said in a statement. "People will get sick and die because of you. Not only from COVID-19: if someone has a heart attack or a stroke or a car accident and dies because they can't get an ICU bed that's being used by someone who got COVID at your establishment, or got it from someone who got it at your establishment, that death is also on you."
According to the law, establishments that violate or threaten to violate the order face fines up to $25,000 per occurrence.