COVID-19 Cases Contribute to ICU Beds Being 98% Full Throughout Minnesota

In the past week, Minnesota has seen an average of 4,725 COVID-19 cases each day. The last time it was that high was exactly one year ago today, when the state was coming down from its worst peak of coronavirus cases. With many people being cared for, ICUs all over Minnesota are at 98% capacity.

At Essentia Health-St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Brainerd, their ICU is full, with 10 patients in 10 beds, seven of them on ventilators, and all unvaccinated. Dr. Greg Davis says they’ve been running at full capacity for several weeks.

ICUs aren’t the only places where staff are feeling stressed and overwhelmed. Nine teams of trained Minnesota National Guard members will deploy to nursing homes around the state to help overworked caregivers there.