Latest on COVID-19 in MN: Nearly 4,000 more cases, 35 deaths over the weekend – Minnesota Public Radio News

Minnesota health officials reported nearly 4,000 more confirmed COVID-19 cases and 35 more deaths over the weekend

The state has averaged 16 COVID-19 deaths a day over the past week that's a level not seen since June. The average number of new hospitalizations each day also continues to climb.

The number of active COVID-19 cases in the state reached a record high on Saturday at more than 13,000. The number ticked down slightly on Sunday, to 12,968; it was 8,171 on Oct. 1.

The weekly average for test positivity rate in Minnesota was at 6.7 percent on Sunday down slightly from Saturday, but well above the 4.6 percent rate at the start of the month.

There is more disease out there, and not just because were doing more testing, Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm told reporters Friday.

Here are Minnesotas current COVID-19 statistics:

2,349 deaths (21 new)

133,802 positive cases (1,684 new); 118,485 off isolation

2,686,302 tests; 1,770,362 people tested

6.7 percent seven-day positive test rate

Twelve of the 21 deaths reported Sunday were residents of long-term care facilities. Those who died ranged in age from someone in their 30s to someone over 100.

Malcolm said on Friday that 565 people were in hospitals, with 160 needing intensive care. Both numbers were near their late-May highs.

New cases are up dramatically over the past month in all age groups. That includes a concerning rise in the number of new cases among Minnesotans ages 60 and older.

People in their 20s still make up the age bracket with the states largest number of confirmed cases more than 29,000 since the pandemic began, including more than 16,600 among people ages 20-24.

The numbers help explain why experts remain particularly concerned about young adults as spreaders of the virus.

While less likely to feel the worst effects of the disease and end up hospitalized, experts worry youth and young adults will spread it to grandparents and other vulnerable populations and that spread could hamper attempts to reopen schools and campuses completely to in-person teaching.

The number of high school-age children confirmed with the disease has also grown, with more than 11,900 total cases among children ages 15 to 19 since the pandemic began.

Regionally, central, northern and southern Minnesota have driven much of the recent increase in new cases while Hennepin and Ramsey counties show some of the slowest case growth in the state.

Newly reported cases are highest in western Minnesota the northwest, west-central and southwest areas of the state have been averaging more than 40 new cases per day per 100,000 people, higher than any of the states central and eastern regions.

The data dont explain why. However, cases are surging currently in the Dakotas. North Dakota has the countrys worst per-capita spread rate.

Collectively, rural areas of Minnesota continue to report the most new COVID-19 cases.

Northern Minnesota, once the region least affected by the disease, has also seen its caseload grow dramatically in recent weeks. Northwestern Minnesota continues to see cases rise swiftly relative to it population.

The largest current hot spot counties are all in northwestern Minnesota:

We are seeing more deaths in greater Minnesota because we are seeing more cases there, Kris Ehresmann, the states infectious disease director, said Wednesday. We will see more and more deaths from greater Minnesota because of the high caseload.

Ehresmann and Malcolm tied the recent steep rise in cases and deaths to COVID fatigue but also described people who are ill but refuse to get tested because they don't want to admit they have it and don't quarantine as a contributing factor in spreading the disease.

In Minnesota and across the country, COVID-19 has hit communities of color disproportionately hard in both cases and deaths.

Minnesotans of Hispanic descent are testing positive for COVID-19 at about five times the rate of white Minnesotans. They, along with Black Minnesotans, are also being hospitalized and moved to intensive care units at higher rates than the overall population.

Similar trends hold true for Minnesotas Indigenous residents. Counts among Indigenous people have jumped in October relative to population. The number of new COVID-19 cases among Native Americans has grown by about 75 percent in the past month.

Data the past two weeks also show newly confirmed cases continuing to accelerate among Latino people in Minnesota.

Distrust of the government, together with deeply rooted health and economic disparities, have hampered efforts to boost testing among communities of color, particularly for undocumented immigrants who fear their personal information may be used to deport them.

As Minnesota continues to see more than 1,000 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases a day, state health officials have scheduled another round of free testing sites this week.

Free testing will take place Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in Little Falls, Red Wing and Waconia, as well as Tuesday in Tyler, Thursday in Madison and Thursday and Friday in St. Paul.

Find more details and schedule an appointment on theMinnesota Department of Health website.

Officials said the free testing sites are targeted to areas with COVID-19 outbreaks, or barriers to accessing existing test sites.

Free saliva testing sites are now open in Duluth, Winona, Moorhead, Brooklyn Park and Mankato.Find more information here.

MPR News Staff

As school districts across Minnesota continue to monitor the latest COVID-19 trends, the state's largest district is among those changing its learning model.

The Anoka-Hennepin district announced Friday that its middle schools and high schools will move to distance learning starting Nov. 4, in response to local COVID-19 data. Elementary schools will remain in the hybrid learning model.

Those formats will remain in effect for at least a month.

The move to distance learning means high school activities and athletics will be canceled for the rest of the trimester in the Anoka-Hennepin district.

Schools across Minnesota are getting data and guidance from the state Health Department to help decide whether to have in-person learning, distance learning, or a hybrid of the two and whether to adjust those models as the pandemic continues.

MPR News Staff

The Minnesota Department of Health on Thursday launched an at-home saliva testing pilot program in two dozen counties or tribal nations around the state. Most locations have few testing options and many are in greater Minnesota, where spread of the virus has been rapid in recent weeks.

The state has contracted with Vault Health to provide the saliva tests, which have been rolled out at in-person collection sites around the state.

People in these counties will be able to order the same test through the mail. It will be shipped to their home and performed with the help of a health care professional over the internet. The test will then be shipped to a facility in Oakdale, and results will be available electronically in 24-48 hours.

Test-takers will be asked for insurance information, but it will be free if insurance won't cover it or if they don't have insurance.

Catharine Richert | MPR News

Minn. nursing homes in rural areas see staff shortages worsen with COVID-19: Facilities caring for older adults are struggling with low staffing levels, as COVID-19 makes an ongoing problem even worse. Nursing home operators say theyre scrambling to make sure they have enough nurses and others to ensure the safety and well-being of residents.

Several types of COVID tests are available in Minnesota. What you need to know: Heres a breakdown of the kinds of tests available in the state, when you should seek one out and what happens next.

Data in these graphs are based on the Minnesota Department of Health's cumulative totals released at 11 a.m. daily. You can find more detailed statistics on COVID-19 at theHealth Department website.

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Latest on COVID-19 in MN: Nearly 4,000 more cases, 35 deaths over the weekend - Minnesota Public Radio News