U.S. Navy photo by 2nd Class Mass Communication Specialist Sara Eshleman via Flickr
The Minnesota Health Department’s status report on Saturday shows that the state’s number of confirmed COVID-19 infections since the start of the pandemic has exceeded 50,000.
Overall, Saturday’s update includes 805 new cases, two of which have been removed by an official count of 803. Those results are the result of 18,227 tests, creating a daily positive test rate of 4.40%. Since the first case was confirmed by laboratory testing on March 6, there have been a total of 50,291 cases.
The World Health Organization says that a 14-day positive test rate of less than 5 percent is the key to keeping companies open. Minnesota’s 7-day moving average, as of Friday, was 4.33%, according to Johns Hopkins University.
“If it exceeds 5 percent, it indicates you may be returning to a more rapidly spreading phase of the disease,” said MDH Commissioner Jan Malcolm.
Hospitalizations increased to 287, including 115 intensive care patients. The 287 concurrent hospitalizations are the highest total in Minnesota since June 28 (288).
The update includes five new deaths, including one person in their 70s, three people in their 80s, and one person in their 90s. Overall, 1,204 of Minnesota’s 1,571 COVID-19 deaths have been long-term care or assisted living, which the CDC says are more vulnerable to serious illness caused by the virus.
Coronavirus in Minnesota by the numbers:
- Tests: 940,696 (compared to 922,876)
- Positive cases: 50,291 (compared to 49,488)
- Deceased: 1,571 (instead of 1,566)
- Still hospitalized: 287 (instead of 278)
- Intensive care patients: 115 (instead of 108)
- Patients who no longer require isolation: 43,625 (instead of 42,882)
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