MN COVID-19 Weekly Update: Three Weeks Increase in Cases

3 things to know

• The number of COVID-19 cases has been increasing for three weeks

• Deaths continue to follow a trend close to the lows of the early pandemic

• 16 years and over with at least one vaccine injection: 68%

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With the number of COVID-19 cases now trending upward over the past three weeks in Minnesota, it appears the state is in the midst of a fourth wave of the pandemic.

The seven-day moving average of new COVID cases in Minnesota rose from around 90 per day earlier this month, to more than 250 per day as of Thursday’s update from health officials from the State.

It’s a cause for concern, of course – but also a cause for context research amid the past 16 months of pandemic data.

The more contagious delta variant continues to circulate and infect people throughout Minnesota. The number of cases is increasing in all regions and the test positivity rate has climbed back to above 2% after falling below 1%.

And most new infections are in unvaccinated people – while the vaccination rate among Minnesotans 12 and older remains stubbornly stagnant at around two-thirds of that population.

But the number of new cases remains only a fraction of the peaks seen in previous waves – the average number of cases topped 2,000 per day in April and 7,000 last November. And the test positivity rate remains well below the 5% figure that officials have long said is cause for concern.

And with nearly 3 million Minnesotans now fully vaccinated, there just isn’t as much ground for the coronavirus to take new positions in the state.

Hospitalizations have only increased slightly in recent weeks, as the number of COVID deaths reported each day hovers around the lowest level seen since the first weeks of the pandemic – although reports of hospitalizations and deaths are overdue in relation to new case reports.

Figures increase but remain close to pandemic lows

The number of known and active COVID-19 cases in Minnesota – this is the number of people who must be isolated to not pass the coronavirus to someone else – has risen above 2,000 in the report from Thursday.

That’s up from less than 800 at the start of the month – but still down dramatically since May 1, when Minnesota had more than 15,000 active cases.

Four new deaths reported Thursday brought the Minnesota pandemic toll to 7,648. Of those who died, about 59% were living in long-term care or assisted living facilities; most had underlying health problems.

On average, Minnesota is reported to have about two deaths from COVID per day over the past week, keeping those numbers near pandemic lows.

The state has recorded a total of 609,016 confirmed or probable cases in the pandemic, including the 340 reported on Friday. About 98% of Minnesotans known to be infected with COVID-19 have recovered to the point where they no longer need to self-isolate.

People in their 20s are the age group with the most confirmed cases in the state – more than 112,000 since the start of the pandemic.

While young people are less likely to feel the worst effects of the disease and end up in hospital, experts fear it could unknowingly spread to older relatives and members of other vulnerable populations.

The pace of vaccination is creeping

About 3.1 million Minnesota residents aged 12 and older have at least one dose of the vaccine.

More than 2.9 million are fully immunized. This represents about 63.2% of the state’s population aged 12 and over fully vaccinated and 66.3% with at least one injection. For just the state’s population aged 16 and over, the figures are 65.1% fully immunized and 68% with at least one injection.

More than 91 percent of Minnesotans 65 and older have at least one dose of the vaccine.

In total, for all ages, about 53.4% ​​of the state’s total population is now fully immunized.

While Minnesota’s vaccination rate recently showed a slight increase, the pace has dropped significantly from the April peak and continues to stumble.

At the current rate, it looks like it’ll be late August or early September before Minnesota has 70 percent of residents 16 and older with at least one dose of the vaccine – a goal officials were hoping to achieve by July 1. .

The rate of vaccination is lagging among the Latin American, black and native populations of Minnesota.

Minnesota also experiences large regional variations in vaccination rates, with most counties outside of the Twin Cities region still below 70% of adults vaccinated – and a few still below 50%.

Editor’s Note: With the pandemic largely under control, we have ended our daily “Latest News on COVID-19 in MN” stories. In their place, we publish a weekly recap story on Fridays. You will always be able to find updated graphs and data on our COVID-19 Stories Collection Page. And you can count on us to continue to cover the pandemic.

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COVID-19 in Minnesota

The data in these charts is based on cumulative totals from the Minnesota Department of Health released as of 11 a.m. on weekdays. You can find more detailed statistics on COVID-19 at Ministry of Health website.