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The county saw a more than 100% increase in cases from the previous week of November 6-12. This week, about 1,200 more residents of St. Louis County recently tested positive.
The county has now passed the 5,000 total case mark since the start of the pandemic.
As usual, St. Louis County was not alone. Almost all 10 counties in Minnesota and Wisconsin in Northland, with the exception of Cook County, saw new weekly highs.
The numbers paint a grim picture, Dr Jon Pryor, president of Essentia Health’s East Market, said at a Duluth town press conference on Thursday.
“Whichever metric you use, COVID-19 has never been more prevalent in Northland,” Pryor said. “If the current transmission trajectory continues, our communities will be at risk. What we ask you is to help protect our frontline healthcare workers by taking COVID seriously.”
Health care resources are “dangerously” dispersed as the demand for care increases, Pryor said. Still, Essentia and St. Luke’s have emphasized that they are ready to treat non-COVID-19 patients.
Unlike most viruses, Pryor added, people infected with the coronavirus are most infectious two days before symptoms develop. This is why wearing a mask, in particular, as well as physical distance is always important. Citing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, he said wearing a mask not only prevents people around an infected person, it also protects the wearer of the mask from infection.
To make changes and help beat the virus, St. Luke’s chief medical officer Dr Nicholas Van Deelen said anyone can help by avoiding small gatherings, which are behind the spread. .
“If you have to get together with people outside your household, keep the group small and always wear your mask,” he said.
St. Louis County Public Health Director Amy Westbrook said hospitalizations from COVID-19 continued to reach new highs in the county. As of Thursday, 54 were hospitalized and 15 in an intensive care unit.
She mentioned that public health officials need people to answer their phones when the public health system calls to investigate cases and trace contacts.
“The information we collect from you is very important to understanding the spread of the virus and understanding where there could be potential risks of exposure in our community,” Westbrook said. “You’re not in trouble. There’s no repercussions or anything.”
A look back at this week’s figures
All Northland counties except Cook have seen an increase in weekly test positivity rates – the percentage of diagnostic tests that came back positive last week – and some have increased more than others.
Douglas, Bayfield and Ashland counties in Wisconsin reported the highest weekly positivity rates at 35%, 40% and 41%, respectively.
Aitkin County had the highest positivity rate of the seven counties in northeastern Minnesota last week at 29%, followed by Itasca with 19.5%, Carlton with 17.1% and County of St Louis with 15%. Health experts consider 5% and more to be “too high”.
Of the 1,200 residents of St. Louis County who reportedly tested positive last week, about 60% live in Duluth, according to the county.
Number of cases since November 6 in other cities of Saint-Louis County:
- Hibbing, 116
- Hermantown, 76
- Virginie, 41 years old
- Eveleth, 30 years old
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Chisholm, 27
- Saginaw, 22 years old
- Proctor, 20
- Mountain Iron, 18
- Culver, 18
- Cook, 13
All other cities in St. Louis County have recorded 10 or fewer new cases.
More than 300 more people in County Carlton were recorded as having tested positive between November 6 and 12 – an 84% increase from the previous and previous week’s record.
County Carlton continues to dominate Northland in most cases per 10,000 population.
About half – 167 – of those people live in the Cloquet zip code, according to weekly postal code data from the state’s Department of Health.
Number of new cases since Nov 6 in other Carlton County postal codes:
- Esko, 43 years old
- Moose Lake, 38
- Barnum, 25
- Carlton, 24
- Wrenshall, 17
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