Local News

COVID In Minnesota: Close To 2 Million Have Completed Vaccine Series

May 4, 2021 / 11:08 AM CDT / CBS Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The Minnesota Department of Health reports that 59% of Minnesotans 16 or older have received at least one dose, and 1.99 million have completed their vaccine series.

In total, the state has administered 4,391,066 doses of vaccine. As of this point, 87% of those 65 or older have received at least one dose.

Meanwhile, Minnesota reported 11 new deaths attributable to COVID-19 in the last day, along with just over 998 newly confirmed positive cases from 11,620 tests. According to MDH, since the pandemic began, more than 4 million Minnesotans have been tested.

Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 581,335 positive cases and 7,174 deaths.

The state's rolling average positivity rate has slid to 5.9%. Anything above 5% is considered cause for increased caution, the positivity rate has been declining rapidly over the last few weeks, following a peak in April at about 7.5%.

Community spread remains high, with 43.3% of cases reported with no known source of exposure. The line of caution is drawn at 20%.

The latest figures of those hospitalized show 149 Minnesotans in ICU, down roughly a quarter from about two weeks ago when that figure topped 200. The overall figures show hospitalization figures remain high as more cases of the U.K. variant are reported, with an average of 13.5 new daily hospitalizations per 100,000 residents, which is another figure that has been dropping in recent days. Anything above eight hospitalizations per 100,000 is considered high risk.

Many expect Gov. Tim Walz to announce another easing of restrictions in the near future. The last rollback of COVID restrictions in Minnesota came about halfway through March, when restaurants and bars were allowed to operate at 75% capacity, and gym capacities increased to 50%. Capacity limits at religious services and salons were completely lifted. Entertainment venues were also allowed to up indoor and outdoor occupancy levels from 25% to 50%, with a maximum of 250 people.