COVID In Minnesota: MDH Reports 6 Deaths, 112 New Cases
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO/AP) - Heading into the holiday weekend, the Minnesota Department of Health reported 112 new cases of COVID-19 and six deaths.
The update brings the state's total case count to 605,549, while 7,605 Minnesotans have died from the virus since last March.
Meanwhile, the state's average positivity rate has plummeted recently, dropping to 1.2 as of last week. Daily new cases per 100,000 residents has also dipped to 1.6, and hospitalizations are nearing levels seen only during the early days of the pandemic.
The Minnesota Department of Health's data shows that 67.1% of Minnesotans 16 and older have received their first dose of the vaccine.
Gov. Tim Walz on Thursday announced that the state had passed President Joe Biden's goal of vaccinating 70% of residents over the age of 18 before July 4. While data from the MDH shows that 5.7 million total vaccines have been distributed, data from the Center for Disease Control says that 5.8 million vaccines have been administered.
Walz said Minnesota is only the second Midwestern state to meet Biden's goal; Minnesota leads the Midwest with 52% of its population fully vaccinated. Walz took pride in those numbers even though the state fell short of his goal of 70% of residents in a wider age range — 16 and up — to be at least partially vaccinated by July 1. The vaccine data dashboard shows that 63.9% Minnesotans 16 and older are fully inoculated.
In the last 24 hours, the state processed 14,487 COVID-19 tests; since the start of the pandemic, 4.4 million Minnesotans have been tested for the virus.
Of the people who have contracted the virus, 597,128 no longer need to self-isolate.
(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
