COVID In Minnesota: Positivity Rate Falls To 5%; 14 New Deaths Reported In Last Day

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- As more businesses continue to relax their mask requirements, and a number COVID-19 models are predicting that cases will continue to rapidly fall in Minnesota and elsewhere, the Minnesota Department of Health reports that the rolling average positivity rate continues to fall as well. It's now at the 5% threshold considered the line for increased caution, after being above that line for the last two months.

The state health department on Tuesday also reported 519 newly confirmed positive cases and 14 deaths due to the virus in the last 24 hours, from about 15,617 newly completed tests. Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 595,532 positive cases and 7,310 deaths.

The latest figures of those hospitalized show 112 Minnesotans in ICU, down significantly since this time last month, when that figure was closer to 200.

The figures show an average of just under 10 new daily hospitalizations per 100,000 residents. Anything above eight hospitalizations per 100,000 is considered high risk, but that figure has still been on a downward trend over the last six weeks.

Community spread remains high, with 46% of cases reported with no known source of exposure, the highest figure yet reported since the start of the pandemic.

The state has also reached about 2.35 million residents having completed their vaccine series. In total, 62% of Minnesotans 16 or older have received at least one dose, and 88% of those 65 or older have received at least one dose. In total, the state has administered 4,885,672 doses of vaccine.

According to MDH, since the pandemic began, more than 4.18 million Minnesotans have been tested.

New modeling from the Centers for Disease Control projects "a sharp decline in cases" by July, though the CDC noted that if public health guidance is not followed, the country could see "substantial increases in severe COVID-19 outcomes."