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3 things to know:
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Stable positive trends in the number of active cases, hospitalizations
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Trend in daily vaccination still stable week after week
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Gov. Tim Walz eases restrictions on restaurants and weddings
Update at 12 p.m.
The latest COVID-19 data from Minnesota continues to offer many reasons to be encouraged on the path to the pandemic. The main trend lines around the disease remain tilted in the right direction – downward.
The number of hospitalizations, for example, remains stable at late September / early October levels, with 326 Minnesotans hospitalized on Thursday and 73 requiring intensive care. New hospital admissions remain low compared to their surge in late November and early December.
The number of known and active cases has exceeded 8,000 cases, but the trendline remains at levels not seen since late September. The new cases reported were rather modest at 1,058.
The overall vaccination rate is still stable after dropping following an outbreak in late January. The state reported more than 31,000 new vaccinations on Friday, down from the previous Friday. With the increase in federal vaccine shipments, this could be a lull before a recovery.
Friday’s data came minutes after Gov. Tim Walz OK increased the number of people allowed in restaurants and at weddings and other private gatherings, as the pandemic situation improves and vaccinations appear go in the right direction.
About 11.1 percent of Minnesotans had received at least one dose on Wednesday, with about 3.4 percent fully vaccinated. About 30 percent of Minnesotans 65 and over have now been vaccinated.
Officials have insisted in recent weeks that the relatively low flow of vaccines from the federal government is the main issue slowing the pace of vaccinations. There is data to back it up.
The state, however, had fallen to 29th among states at administered doses per 100,000 population, according to data collected by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Hoping to speed up efforts, the Department of Health has opened mass vaccination sites in the Twin Cities, Rochester and Duluth, and posted information about its online vaccine finder.
Nineteen deaths reported Thursday brought Minnesota’s toll to 6,362. Of those who died, about 63% were living in long-term care or assisted living facilities; most had underlying health problems.
The state has recorded a total of 471,851 confirmed or probable cases so far in the pandemic. About 97% of Minnesotans known to be infected with COVID-19 in the pandemic have recovered to the point that they no longer need to be isolated.
State officials continue to warn that promising trends are still tenuous, noting new strains of the virus arriving in the United States, including two cases of the Brazilian strain and 18 of the British variant in Minnesota.
Cases distributed across age groups and regions
People in their 20s are still the age group with the highest number of confirmed cases in the state – more than 89,000 since the start of the pandemic, including more than 47,000 among those aged 20 to 24.
The number of high school-age youth confirmed with the disease has also increased, with more than 36,000 total cases among those aged 15 to 19 since the start of the pandemic.
Although less likely to feel the worst effects of the disease and end up in hospital, experts fear that young people and young adults may unknowingly pass it on to older parents and members of other vulnerable populations.
People can have the coronavirus and spread COVID-19 when they don’t have symptoms.
Cases tend to drop in all parts of the state after failing in late December, early January.
The number of cases remains highest among people of color
In Minnesota and across the country, COVID-19 has disproportionately hit communities of color in both cases and deaths. This has been especially true for Minnesotans of Hispanic descent during much of the pandemic.
Even as the number of new cases continues to decline from their peaks in late November, early December, data shows Latin Americans continue to be hit hard.
Distrust of the government, as well as deep-rooted health and economic disparities, have hampered efforts to step up testing among communities of color, officials say, especially among unauthorized immigrants who fear their information. personal data are used to expel them.
Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm also recognized on Thursday the need to ensure that vaccination opportunities are distributed fairly.
Malcolm said the state will release data regarding vaccinations, race and ethnicity soon. Officials say they are trying to improve the quality of the data. According to state law, it was shared voluntarily and therefore may be inconsistent.
‘We’re in a better place now’
Malcolm and the National Director of Infectious Diseases, Kris Ehresmann, have spent much of the pandemic warning people that the pandemic is not over and could quickly escalate if the Minnesotans do not remain vigilant.
On Thursday, however, even they said the current situation looks rather decent.
For example, the seven-day average of COVID-19 tests returning positive – a key indicator of the disease’s uncontrolled spread – has fallen below 3%, roughly where it was at the end of June. Officials find 5 percent or more worrying.
“We’re in a better situation right now than we’ve been for some time,” Kris Ehresmann, the state’s director of infectious diseases, told reporters on Thursday in a surprisingly optimistic assessment.
She and Malcolm were quick to point out that strains of the virus from Brazil and the UK remain of concern. Ehresmann said it was always important to wear masks in public gathering spaces, to distance yourself socially and to remain vigilant against the spread of the virus and its variants.
She also cautioned against unnecessary travel now, despite the subzero weather and some Minnesotans wanting to head south.
Otherwise, they might have been more positive than they have been in months about Minnesota’s location on the pandemic arc. Ehresmann said: “We are closer than ever to the end.”
COVID-19 in Minnesota
The data in these charts is based on cumulative totals from the Minnesota Department of Health released at 11 a.m. daily. You can find more detailed statistics on COVID-19 at Department of Health website.
Main titles
Governor Walz will recompose the guest boundaries at private gatherings: People planning wedding receptions and other group celebrations are expected to receive positive news on Friday when Gov. Tim Walz is expected to increase his limit on the number of people who can attend private indoor gatherings from 10 to 50.
Minnesota lawmakers grapple with the following COVID-19 deportation rule: A pandemic-related executive order has put most tenant evictions on hold, but Minnesota lawmakers are starting to sort out what will be put in its place and how to avoid a surge in dismissals.
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