Public health leaders in state are expected to brief reporters at 2 p.m.
Updated 12:03 pm
The latest COVID-19 data in Minnesota show that the state remains steady in a relatively modest growth in new cases as hospital admissions decline. However, government officials still believe that the coming weeks after the annual holiday are likely to have another upswing.
The health department on Wednesday confirmed 1,504 cases of probability of the disease, as well as another 50 deaths. This is a higher mortality rate than last week, but the overall trend remains lower after a rise in December.
About 665 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Tuesday, 129 of whom are in intensive care. These scores have dropped by more than half over the past four weeks. The trend to seven days of new hospital admissions is lower than the levels not seen since the end of October.
Hospital admissions are now lower than Minnesota saw on Nov. 1, but still above their Oct. 1 level.
Although they applaud the recent positive trends, health officials have indicated that another upswing is expected. Wednesday’s data shows that the number of active, confirmed cases in Minnesota is ticking upward, although it is still much lower than last month.
Government Tim Walz said in mid-December his COVID-19 viewers were worried about a rise in February. On Monday, Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm slammed Minnesotans for raising daily deaths and the number of cases.
“We expect cases to go up again in Minnesota after the annual holidays, and possibly just because of the winter that carries more time indoors and more gatherings,” Malcolm told reporters.
Overall, the COVID-19 road from Minnesota remains difficult to map because of reporting on those year-end vacations.
The cases reported Wednesday put Minnesota at 440,354 in the pandemic. About 95 percent of them recovered until they no longer needed to be isolated.
The newly reported deaths increased Minnesota’s toll to 5,774. Among the deceased, about 64 percent lived in long-term care or assistance facilities; most had underlying health problems.
Cases spread across age groups, regions
People in their twenties still form the age group with the largest number of confirmed cases of the state – nearly 84,000 since the pandemic began, including more than 44,000 among people aged 20 to 24.
The number of high school teens confirmed with the disease has also grown, with more than 34,000 cases since the pandemic between the ages of 15 and 19.
Although less likely to experience the worst effects of the disease and eventually being admitted to hospital, experts are concerned that young people will spread it to older family members and members of other vulnerable populations.
This is of particular concern because humans can have the coronavirus and can spread COVID-19 if they have no symptoms.
A relatively small bump in new cases has occurred across the state.
Popular places keep popping up in rural provinces relative to their population.
Cases are still the heaviest among coloreds
In Minnesota and across the state, COVID-19 hit communities of color excessively hard in both cases and deaths. This is especially true for Minnesotans of Spanish descent for much of the pandemic.
Although the number of new cases has eased since the end of November, in early December, the data show that coloreds are still hit the hardest.
The distrust of the government, coupled with deep-rooted health and economic disparities, has hampered efforts to promote testing among color communities, officials say, especially among unauthorized immigrants who fear their personal information could be used to deport them.
Similar trends were seen among Minnesota natives. In October, the number of indigenous population jumped in proportion to the population.
‘A promise to deliver does not deliver’
Minnesota officials hope the federal government is calling on states to expand the priority pool of people getting COVID-19 vaccinations, meaning more supplies are coming, but they say the feds have not yet supported the calls with no more vaccine deliveries.
Trump administration officials on Tuesday called on states to immediately expand fitness for people 65 and older, as well as people most vulnerable to the disease.
The administration also plans to start distributing vaccine based on a population older than 65 years and the rate of vaccination. Currently, doses are allocated based on the total adult population of a state.
About 430,000 doses have been sent to Minnesota so far to health care providers and the federal vaccine program for long-term care institutions, according to the state’s new COVID-19 information panel website; more than 150,000 Minnesotans have received at least one dose so far.
Patti Cullen, President and CEO of Minnesota Care Providers, on Vaccinations for Long-Term Care
While Minnesota welcomes more vaccine available to more people sooner, it promises not to deliver, ‘Kris Ehresmann, the state’s director of infectious diseases, told reporters on Tuesday.
The changing federal recommendations could potentially add a few million people who would expect to be vaccinated in Minnesota, she said. “If we only get 60,000 doses a week, it’s going to be a real problem.”
No additional doses were sent or arrived, she added.
“We are ready to receive more vaccine if the feds actually keep their promise,” Ehresmann said. There are currently no additional doses for use. There are no doses to put in the arms to go along with it. ‘
Later Tuesday, Secretary of State Tim Walz said the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services had agreed to requests from Minnesota and eight other states to release “millions of doses” withheld for release. However, the exact amount that would go to Minnesota was not detailed.
Developments around the state
MN will remain in peacetime for at least another 30 days
The state will remain in a peacetime position for at least another 30 days.
Gov. Tim Walz has expanded his COVID-19 executive with the approval of a board of civil servants. The statement he first issued last March enabled his administration to manage the pandemic response. But it has also bothered critics who say he should consult the legislature directly.
Although there has been an improvement in coronavirus trends recently, Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said there are still risks.
‘The conditions remain very fragile and erratic. “We can definitely see and honestly expect to see the increase in cases as economic activity and social interactions increase a bit,” Malcolm said.
– Brian Bakst | MPR News
Minnesota Adjusts COVID Phone Alert Systems
Minnesota is working on some changes to the phone alert system it uses to detect COVID-19.
The change applies to many users of Apple’s iPhone. The state’s information technology agency, MNIT, said over the weekend that users with newer operating systems would get a call with which they could turn on exposure notifications without using the separate COVID-19 app. It’s part of technology already widely used, developed by Apple and Google, which can be incorporated into the operating system of a phone.
The service has the same features as the app, using Bluetooth technology and randomly assigned numbers to detect others nearby, and later share anonymously if one of the parties reports a positive COVID-19 test. The new version, like the app itself, does not collect individual information or track locations.
– Tim Nelson | MPR News
Top headlines
Schools are ready to reopen, but teachers are not vaccinated: Teachers from some of the largest school districts in the state express concern about returning to personal education and note that they have yet to be vaccinated at a time when the COVID-19 virus is still spreading.
Namate Minn. Throughout the first vaccination round, some suppliers are worried about being left out: Minnesota is reaching the final stages of its initial COVID-19 vaccinations. But providers, such as drug addiction care centers and mental health providers, say they are still in the dark about when and where their staff will get the vaccine.
Minnesotans with disabilities wonder when to get COVID-19 vaccine: As a group, people with disabilities often suffer excessively from the effects of the pandemic.
COVID-19 in Minnesota
The data in these graphs are based on the cumulative totals of Minnesota’s Department of Health released daily at 11 p.m. You can find more information about COVID-19 at Website of the Department of Health.
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