COVID-19 in MN: active cases, increase in positive test rate

3 things to know:

• 3,546 newly confirmed or probable cases, 17 newly reported deaths

• 21,909 known active cases; 819 currently hospitalized

• 73.5% of residents aged 16 and over who received at least one dose of vaccine

Update at 1:45 p.m.

Minnesota’s summer-fall COVID-19 outbreak stubbornly refuses to soar.

The latest data shows new and active cases continue to climb above the levels Minnesota saw during its mid-April surge. Equally concerning: The rate of positive tests for the disease is now higher than it has been since January.

The Ministry of Health’s daily number of known and active cases rose to 21,909 on Monday, reaching its highest point so far in 2021. The state has averaged more than 2,600 new cases per day during of the last seven days of reporting, levels not seen since December.

Cases continue to increase, driven since the end of the summer by the highly contagious delta variant.

Minnesotans under 20 continue to generate many of these new workloads, while those 20 and older – the demographic group that saw the most cases during the pandemic – have a historically low share.

The rate of positive tests has remained relatively stable but is now showing some upward strength. The seven-day average is 6.4%, higher than the 5% that officials find worrying.

While it doesn’t soar like in other waves, it doesn’t back down. This is an indication that the spread of the disease is increasing.

Cases are increasing in all age groups, but the highest rates continue to be in people aged 10 to 19.

The state’s death toll stands at 8,191, including 21 newly reported deaths on Monday.

Much of the recent increases are coming from areas of Minnesota outside the Twin Cities region, although the state as a whole except Cook County in the Arrowhead has a high level of transmission of the disease. COVID-19, according to the current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. menu.

Cases are increasing especially in northwestern Minnesota. Over the past week, the region has recorded an average of 98 new cases per day per 100,000 population – a level as high as that seen in Hennepin and Ramsey counties during the brutal late fall surge of l ‘State.

Current hospital and intensive care needs have increased during this summer-fall wave – 819 people are currently in hospital beds with COVID-19, including 213 intensive care cases.

Critical care cases are back after ticking the week before. Overall, hospitalizations remain higher than in the April outbreak.

Minnesota remains better positioned now than during its fall and spring peaks. More than 72 percent of state residents aged 12 and older have received at least one vaccine, with more than two-thirds fully immunized.

However, there is still a slow march to get more Minnesotans vaccinated, and wide gaps remain in vaccination rates between regions and counties.

The Twin Cities region currently has the highest vaccination rate in the state and lowest case rate. Northeast and Southeast Minnesota have the next highest vaccination rates and the next highest case rates.

Central and western Minnesota have the lowest vaccination rates and the highest case rates.