COVID In Minnesota: Health Officials Report 2 Additional Deaths, Lowest Daily Fatality Count In 4 Months

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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — After Gov. Tim Walz announced Monday that “significantly more” coronavirus vaccine will be allotted to Minnesotans 65 and older this week, the Minnesota Department of Health reported 727 more cases of the virus, and two more deaths — the lowest daily death count since late September.

According to the Minnesota Department of Health, there have been 462,528 total cases confirmed in Minnesota since the start of the pandemic last March. The state’s death toll is now 6,202. About two-thirds of the deaths have occurred in long-term care or assisted living facilities. Of the most recent fatalities, one of the victims was in long-term care.

The state’s latest figures show a rolling seven-day average positivity rate is at 4.8% as of Jan. 20, due to data lag; that’s considered to be below the threshold for caution, according to the health department. The new hospitalizations rate per 100,000 residents is also down to 10.5%, which is as low as it’s been since mid-October.

The health department reports that more than 21,000 COVID-19 tests were processed in the last 24 hours, suggesting a daily positivity rate of 3.4%. Over 3.2 million people have taken a test in Minnesota.

As of Jan. 29, there have been 531,048 doses of the COVID vaccine distributed in the state; 111,715 people have completed the vaccine series. About two-thirds of the doses have been the Pfizer vaccine, with the other third being the one developed by Moderna.

Over 24,300 people have needed hospitalization for the virus since the pandemic began. As of Jan. 28, there are 95 patients with COVID-19 needing intensive care unit beds and an additional 355 patients needing non-ICU beds.

The virus has been ebbing for weeks, but health officials nationwide are concerned about emerging variants.

On Monday, the state health department launched a new vaccine locator map to help people connect with clinics, hospitals and other places statewide where they can get appointments.