COVID In Minnesota: State's Positivity Rate Shoots Up To 8.3%, Highest Since Pre-Vaccination Period
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO/AP) -- Health officials on Tuesday reported an additional 7,942 virus cases and 10 more deaths due to COVID-19, as the state's positivity rate continues to climb toward the high risk category.
According to the Minnesota Department of Health's daily update, the state's total positive cases have risen to 746,768 since the pandemic began, with 8,330 deaths attributed to the virus. About 16,700 tests have been newly processed.
Meanwhile, the latest rolling seven-day average positivity rate is rising rapidly, now at 8.3%, as reported Tuesday. The line for high risk is drawn at 10%. The current figure represents the highest mark since vaccines first rolled out late last year.
There are also a reported 52.7 daily new cases per 100,000 Minnesota residents, which puts the state well above the line considered high risk, and the highest that figure has been since the middle of December 2020.
Total ICU bed usage among COVID-19 patients is at 254. Additionally, there are currently 706 COVID-19 patients being hospitalized in non-ICU beds. Many hospitals in the state are reporting being stretched close to capacity as these figures continue to remain high. While the total reported Tuesday is below the record 1,864 hospitalizations set last Nov. 29, it's the highest it's been in 2021.
The rate of deaths being reported is roughly double what it was a month ago.
The rate of new COVID hospitalizations per 100,000 residents is at 13.6; the last time it sustained figures that high was at the end of April.
As of Tuesday morning, figures from the Minnesota Department of Health showed that about 74% of Minnesotans 16 or older had received at least one dose, and 94.3% of those 65 or older had received at least one dose. In total, the state has administered 6,630,869 doses of vaccine, with about 3.26 million residents having completed their vaccine series.
There have been 190,415 vaccine booster shots given to eligible Minnesotans.
Minnesota's rate of new infections for the past seven days is seventh-worst among U.S. states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with other Midwest and Northwest states seeing surges as well. But infections in hard-hit states such as Florida and Louisiana have dropped to among the lowest in the country.
(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)