Updated: 11:30 am
Minnesota health officials reported 423 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, following a trend of increasing positive case numbers in the state. But trends in daily deaths from the disease still suggest a hopeful downward trend.
According to the Minnesota Department of Health’s daily publication of data COVID-19, eight more people have died of the disease in the state, continuing a trend since mid-June of numbers of daily deaths in adolescents or single digits.
The count of people currently hospitalized has dropped slightly to 270, but the number needing intensive care increased slightly to 132. Despite the jump in cases reported this week, hospitalizations overall have declined in recent weeks.
Minnesota has now confirmed 37,624 positive tests for the disease during the outbreak. About 86 percent of those who tested positive have recovered to the point that they no longer need to isolate.
Among those who died in Minnesota, nearly 80 percent lived in long-term care or assisted living facilities, and almost all had underlying health problems.
Due to the July 4 holiday, the state health department will not release its COVID-19 update, which would otherwise be daily, on Saturday.
‘Don’t let your guard down’ this Fourth of July
The latest counts occur when officials plead with Minnesotans to keep their guard up and follow public health guidelines during the July 4 holiday weekend. Health officials warned this week that family reunions and other outings could cause a spike if people stray from security measures.
Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm and others are pleading with groups that meet on July 4 to meet outdoors rather than indoors and wear masks and social distance even when outside to minimize the risk of spreading the virus.
Young adults are a particular concern. Minnesota residents in their 20s are the largest age group of confirmed cases, nearly 8,000 since the pandemic began. The median age for cases has decreased and he is now just under 39, Malcolm said earlier this week, as he warned young adults not to let their guard down.
“Remember that you are not invincible and neither are your loved ones,” he said.
Governor Tim Walz is sufficiently concerned about possible outbreaks that he said earlier this week that he is considering a statewide mask order.
Malcolm reiterated Wednesday that the governor is “taking a mask requirement very seriously” and that she and other state health experts will support that measure.
The inflammatory condition appears in some MN children
Authorities on Wednesday also confirmed 13 cases of Minnesota children diagnosed with multi-system inflammatory syndrome, a condition believed to be related to COVID-19, which has been shown to be fatal in New York.
While the disease did not kill a Minnesota boy, he sent eight of the 13 to intensive care, state epidemiologist Dr. Ruth Lynfield. Children developed symptoms between mid-May and mid-June; Their average age was 5, and most had no previous medical problems, she said.
And when health officials warned of this mysterious new condition, they warned Minnesotans to prepare for continued coexistence with COVID-19. Even when the COVID-19 pandemic reaches a stage of “collective immunity,” research indicates that immunity will not be as long-lasting as, for example, measles.
The immunity against COVID-19 “can last from a period of months to a couple of years,” Lynfield said Wednesday.
Meat packing hot spots remain
Many of the outbreaks outside the Twin Cities metropolitan area focus on meat packing plants. Officials have stepped up testing at those hot spots, uncovering more infections.
That includes Mower County in southeast Minnesota, where there were 932 confirmed cases as of Thursday.
Mower County is the home of Hormel Foods and Quality Pork Processors. Both have partnered with Mayo Clinic to increase employee testing.
While some of the positive cases in Mower County are associated with people who work on the premises and with the people they live with, county officials say they are also seeing transmission among people who live in the county but who work. in other counties where coronavirus is present.
Nobles, in southwestern Minnesota, reported 1,661 confirmed cases Thursday. About 1 in 13 people have now tested positive for COVID-19 in the county since the pandemic began, although the new case count has dropped dramatically in recent weeks.
Worthington’s massive JBS pork processing plant was the epicenter of the Nobles outbreak. The JBS plant closed on April 20, but has since been reopened with expanded hygiene and health monitoring measures.
Similar problems have been reported in Stearns County, where cases of COVID-19 linked to two packaging plants, the Pilgrim’s Pride poultry plant in Cold Spring and Jennie-O Turkey in Melrose, soared in May.
An undisclosed number of workers at both plants have tested positive for the virus. There were around 55 confirmed cases in Stearns County in early May. By Thursday, confirmed cases were 2,312 with 19 deaths.
Kandiyohi County, in west central Minnesota, is also dealing with a significant number of cases more than two months after officials at the Jennie-O turkey processing plant said some employees tested positive for the coronavirus. .
As of Thursday, the Health Department reported that 566 people have tested positive in the county. The county had confirmed three cases of COVID-19 in late April.
Cases have also increased markedly in Cottonwood County (134 cases), home to a pork processing plant in Windom, and in Lyon County (305 cases), around a turkey processor in Marshall.
Bar groups in Mankato, Minneapolis, St. Cloud
Malcolm said Monday that there are likely more than 200 positive cases in Mankato and at least 100 in Minneapolis linked to bar outbreaks, an increase from past estimates.
All of the sick were in their twenties and had gone to Mankato Rounders and The 507 bars, or Minneapolis Cowboy Jack’s and Kollege Klub bars.
Minnesota’s first sacrifices to limit the spread of COVID-19 “will be undermined if we don’t get the cooperation of all Minnesotans, especially the most active and social Minnesota youth,” Kris Ehresmann, director of infectious diseases, told reporters. of the state.
Those bars’ social media shows they were crowded, with no room for social estrangement, and people who were standing and not masked, so they were not following state guidance, Ehresmann said.
“These are not just suggestions,” Malcolm said of the rules in bars and public spaces.
Authorities also note cases in Stearns County, where state officials are investigating a group of young people ages 18 to 26 who appear to have contracted the virus in a bar. At least 47 cases have been connected to the Pickled Loon in St. Cloud.
Statewide Developments
Defenders urge officials to release non-violent prisoners over virus concerns
Advocates are again demanding that the Minnesota Department of Corrections release non-violent prisoners due to the pandemic.
Stephanie Brown, who leads the Decarcerate Minnesota Coalition group, said many prisoners have already served time for their original crime, but were sent to prison for violating minor probation rules, such as being late for work. The coalition has been lobbying the state for a year, hoping to free prisoners currently detained for technical violations.
Now with COVID-19, Brown said the health of prisoners who shouldn’t even be incarcerated is ignored and that state officials have acknowledged the problem but will do nothing about it.
“That is what we are hearing from prisoners who speak of unsafe and unhealthy conditions. The prisoners are forced to return to work, ”said Brown. “They are just seeing this urge to pretend that everything is fine.”
COVID-19 has prompted the early release of some prisoners, but Brown said it is not enough. The organization plans to protest outside the Correctional Department on Thursday afternoon.
– John Enger | MPR News
HealthPartners permanently closes several clinics
HealthPartners is making changes to various clinics and facilities in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, including behavioral health care and substance use.
Six clinics that were closed during the crisis will not reopen. Doctors will see patients in other facilities. And the behavioral health clinic in Maplewood, an inpatient substance use program at Regions Hospital, and a clinic in Sartell will also be closed permanently.
For now, patients will continue to receive care via telehealth and telephone. When in-person visits begin again, patients will see their providers elsewhere.
– Alisa Roth | MPR News
Top holders
A short guide to a socially estranged Independence Day in Minnesota: Independence Day does not have to change completely despite the pandemic. Here are some places that plan to host events, from virtual to social, and some fireworks safety reminders.
Minnesota health officials support the mask mandate statewide: Health experts urge Gov. Tim Walz to require people to wear masks in public across the state amid concerns that an increase in coronavirus cases elsewhere could occur in Minnesota.
Duluth to consider requiring indoor masks: Duluth considers joining Minneapolis and St. Paul to demand that people wear masks in public places. Several other cities are considering similar measures, even when Governor Tim Walz considers a statewide mask mandate.
COVID-19 in Minnesota
The data in these charts is based on the running totals of the Minnesota Department of Health published at 11 am daily. You can find more detailed statistics on COVID-19 at Department of Health website.
Coronavirus is transmitted through respiratory droplets, coughs, and sneezes, similar to how the flu can spread.
Government and medical leaders are urging people to wash their hands frequently and well, refrain from touching their faces, covering their coughs, disinfecting surfaces, and avoiding large crowds, all in an effort to stem the rapid spread of the virus.
