COVID In MN: Positivity Rate Drops Below 10%
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Minnesota's rolling average COVID-19 positivity rate has dropped below the high-risk threshold for the first time in nearly two months.
The latest update from the Minnesota Department of Health reports the rate at 9.9%, just below the high-risk mark of 10%. It had peaked at nearly 24% last month. The last time it was reported below 10% was Christmas Day.
Daily new cases per 100,000 residents still stand well above the high-risk threshold at 45.2, but like the positivity rate, that number has been trending downwards for weeks now.
Meanwhile, MDH reported 1,853 new cases and 27 more deaths Thursday. The state has now seen 1,402,439 positive cases, including 57,086 reinfections. The virus has killed 11,930 Minnesotans.
As of Wednesday, 808 COVID-19 patients were in Minnesota hospitals, 125 of them in intensive care units. The metro area reports only 3.2% of staffed adult ICU beds available. Since the pandemic began, 59,743 cases have required hospitalization in Minnesota.
The state has administered about 9.35 million vaccine doses, including 2.1 million boosters. More than 74% of the state's 5-and-older population has received at least one dose.