The state today reported 44 new COVID-19 related deaths along with 10,810 new coronavirus cases. Today’s numbers include cases that were delayed in being reported due to a processing error.

There were five deaths in the Lakeland viewing area:

• One person from Clearwater County between the ages of 60 and 64
• One person from Crow Wing County between the ages of 95 and 99
• One person from Mahnomen County between the ages of 90 and 94
• One person from Mille Lacs County between the ages of 95 and 99
• One person from Morrison County between the ages of 65 and 69

The seven-day rolling average for case positivity has reached a new record of 16.6%. This was at 15.6% the day before, which broke a record itself for case positivity set in April of 2020.

Minnesota health officials looking for a silver lining in the spread of the omicron variant of COVID-19 say they hope it can be found in declining intensive-care hospitalizations. As of Friday, there were 1,435 people hospitalized for COVID-19, with 255 of those in ICU beds. This is less than the day prior, when 1,467 were hospitalized with 269 in ICU beds. The number of ICU beds in use has fallen from 374 in mid-December.

The decline temporarily eases pressure on hospitals as they brace for the wave of omicron infections. Despite its rapid spread, health officials are hoping the variant will continue to produce a lower rate of severe COVID-19 cases. Only 18% of Friday’s COVID-19 hospitalizations involved patients in intensive care, the lowest rate since last March.

Also, new data from the state is showing age-adjusted rates of coronavirus-related hospitalizations and deaths remain more than 10 times higher among unvaccinated Minnesotans than those vaccinated. The data also suggests that booster shots are paying off in people who experienced reduced immunity after their initial shots.

In the Lakeland viewing area, there were 325 cases in the following counties:

• Aitkin – 10
• Beltrami – 58
• Cass – 15
• Clearwater – 2
• Crow Wing – 55
• Hubbard – 16
• Itasca – 30
• Koochiching – 2
• Lake of the Woods – 5
• Mahnomen – 10
• Mille Lacs – 18
• Morrison – 22
• Polk – 28
• Roseau – 21
• Todd – 23
• Wadena – 10

By — Lakeland News