MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Minnesota added 922 other cases of COVID-19 to its infection count Monday and four more deaths, including that of a 9-month-old boy who, according to health authorities, had no underlying health conditions.
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) says that one child between the ages of 0-5 was reported killed in Clay County. In an afternoon update, MDH Commissioner Jan Malcolm confirmed that the boy was 9 months old.
Health officials said the boy had no underlying health conditions, but that the death “appears to be an isolated incident related to the baby’s very specific situation.” According to MDH, the boy was not hospitalized.
The boy’s death is believed to be the first and only COVID-19-related death of a person under the age of 20 in Minnesota, and one of the youngest cases in the United States.
Learn more about the 9-month-old COVID death by @mnhealth: The boy had no underlying health problems. MDH will send information about this case to CDC so that it can be part of the greatest scientific knowledge about COVID child deaths.
– Heather Brown (@ heatherbrown21) July 20, 2020
The state’s death toll is now 1,545. According to the charts, COVID-19 deaths in Minnesota have stagnated, as daily deaths have been in the single digits for most of July.
PLUS: MDH Status Update Page for COVID-19
Since the start of the outbreak, 47,107 people in Minnesota have tested positive for the disease. More than 40,000 of those patients have recovered and no longer require isolation.
Currently, 247 patients are in Minnesota hospitals battling COVID-19, 11 fewer in the past 24 hours.
Testing in Minnesota remains constant, with more than 15,000 tests processed per day. According to the Minnesota COVID-19 response panel, the 7-day continuous positivity rate earlier this month was 5%. That number is probably higher now given Monday’s jump in new cases. Only two other days have had more new cases since the start of the outbreak.
If the positivity rate reaches 15% or has daily increases of 5% for two weeks, health officials in Minnesota would consider redialling the COVID-19 restrictions.
According to MDH, the numbers released on Monday for missing and unknown cases are higher than normal (669) due to a transition on Sunday to updated data management systems for COVID-19 surveillance data.
“This updated system is better able to handle the high volume of data that we are collecting. During this transition, we had limited ability to complete investigations, ”said MDH.
The data will be updated as case investigations continue.
This week, more companies in Minnesota are requiring customers to wear masks in stores. These businesses include Caribou coffee, Kowalski markets, and Wal-Mart.
Meanwhile, more cities are considering imposing face mask orders, and Governor Tim Walz is pondering whether or not to impose a state mask mandate.
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