COVID-19 in MN: CDC recommends indoor masking for many counties in Minnesota

3 things to know

• 702 new confirmed cases reported Friday; 5 new deaths reported

• Active cases nearly 4,000, the highest since the end of May; 231 currently hospitalized

• CDC Updates Indoor Mask Guidelines For People Vaccinated In High Transmission Areas, Including Many Counties In Minnesota

Update 7 p.m.

Minnesota’s COVID-19 image was extremely bright on July 1. Now, with the month ending on Saturday, things are a bit cloudy. Cases and hospitalizations continue to increase at a sustained rate until August.

With the rise of the delta variant, the CDC even recommends that vaccinated people wear a mask indoors in areas where community transmission is high or high.

Counties in Minnesota that fall into these categories are Aitkin, Anoka, Benton, Crow Wing, Dakota, Dodge, Douglas, Fillmore, Freeborn, Hennepin, Hubbard, Isanti, Kandiyohi, Lake, Lake of the Woods, Le Sueur, Mcleod, Meeker, Morrison, Nobles, Ramsey, Redwood, Renville, Rice, Rock Scott, Stearns, Swift, Traverse, Waseca, Washington, Wilkin, Winona and Wright.

Data from the Department of Health on Friday showed Minnesota averaged about 476 new cases per day over the past seven reporting days, up significantly from about 91 per day in early July. Known active cases in this stretch have dropped from 780 to just under 4,000.

The state is in a much better position than in November or April thanks to the vaccinations. Almost 70 percent of state residents 16 and older have received at least one vaccine. This gives hope that it will remain a relatively gentle wave.

Yet state public health officials estimate that the highly contagious delta variant is now responsible for 75% of new cases. They implore Minnesotans eligible for a vaccine but still unvaccinated to get vaccinated.

Hospital and intensive care needs are all on the rise again – 231 people are currently in hospital beds with COVID-19, 64 of whom need intensive care – and the rate of positive tests for the disease has risen to the 5% threshold that officials find worrying.

The data shows that this current wave is particularly hitting black people in Minnesota.

“The rate of growth of cases is of real concern,” Minnesota Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said earlier this week as she and other officials supported new federal guidelines urging all students, staff and visitors to K-12 school buildings this fall to wear masks indoors to protect against COVID-19, regardless of their vaccination status.

About 68.7% of Minnesotans aged 16 and over have received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to the latest data; 65.5% are fully vaccinated.

Officials hope that by the end of August, at least 70 percent of the state’s population aged 16 and older will receive at least one dose of the vaccine, although the vaccination rate continues to slow.

However, large differences remain in the vaccination rate between regions in Minnesota.