COVID-19 in MN: New active cases climb as healthcare systems feel stress

3 things to know:

• 3,661 newly confirmed or probable cases, 32 newly reported deaths

• 25,376 known active cases; 871 currently hospitalized

• 73.8% of residents aged 16 and over who received at least one dose of vaccine

Minnesota’s current COVID-19 outbreak remains stuck – in a bad way – at or near highs for 2021 with the disease entrenched and now spreading to all counties.

Data on Friday showed the slow increase in cases, intensive care needs and deaths continuing a day after officials at state hospitals warned that Minnesota’s health care system is under stress, understaffed and struggles to meet the needs of a rapidly growing number of COVID-19 and other patients.

Some 871 people are now in Minnesota hospitals with COVID, 236 of whom need intensive care – the highest number so far in 2021, according to health department data on Friday.

While hospitalizations are not skyrocketing like they were in fall 2020, the current situation is still putting pressure on hospitals and intensive care units in Minnesota.

This week, for the first time in the pandemic, there were more COVID patients hospitalized in greater Minnesota than in the Twin Cities area.

The daily number of known and active cases rose to 25,376 in Friday’s report, reaching a new high in 2021. The state has averaged just under 3,000 new cases per day over the past seven days of ratio, hovering around mid-December levels.

Cases continue to increase statewide, driven since late summer by the highly contagious delta variant. The disease is even more prevalent in adolescents today, but the number is increasing in all age groups.

“Transmission in schools and among children continues to be of particular concern,” Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said Thursday. “We are now seeing more than 3,000 cases per week in children under the age of 12. This represents a disturbing new record for the entire pandemic. “

The positive test rate, which had remained relatively stable in the spring and early summer, is now showing some upward strength. The seven-day average is over 7%, more than the 5% that officials find worrying.

While the rate of positive tests does not jump like it did during the wave of late fall last year, and even declined slightly from Thursday’s report, it still signals a spread. important to the community.

The state’s death toll stands at 8,295, including 20 newly reported deaths on Friday.

Statewide now shows a high level of transmission of COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cases are increasing especially in northwestern Minnesota.

In general, the state remains better positioned today than during its peaks in autumn and spring. Almost 73 percent of state residents aged 12 and older have received at least one vaccine, with more than 69 percent now fully vaccinated.

However, getting more Minnesotans vaccinated remains a huge challenge, and wide gaps remain in vaccination rates between regions and counties.

“The staff is exhausted”

State health officials and hospital leaders on Thursday painted an increasingly disturbing picture of a Minnesota health care system that is stressed, understaffed and struggling to meet the needs of a rapidly increasing number of COVID-19 and other patients.

“Statewide, we have more hospitals reporting that they have no available adult medico-surgical beds and no available adult intensive care beds during this latest wave,” Malcolm told the journalists. “These are numbers we haven’t seen even in the worst wave of last fall.”

She begged eligible Minnesotans to get vaccinated and take precautions to slow the spread of the disease. “There is unfortunately a lot of room for the virus to do harm. “

Hospital leaders delivered a similar message acknowledging the immense pressure on a growing number of patients – some who had delayed needed care during the pandemic – while struggling to treat COVID infections as new and active cases increase .

“The reality is that the staff are exhausted and working harder than ever,” said Dr. Kevin Croston, CEO of North Memorial Health, based in Robbinsdale, north of Minneapolis.

“The staff are working at the highest level and to the best of their ability, but we could use more people, and they are not there for us,” added Rachelle Schultz, CEO of Winona Health in southeast Minnesota.