MN Health Officials Concerned with Rising Hospitalizations From COVID-19

Minnesota health officials said Wednesday that rising hospitalizations due to the novel coronavirus are a concern, just a day before Gov. Tim Walz is to announce guidance for schools reopening in the fall.

The total number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 rose to 310 today, up 16 from yesterday. 143 of those hospitalized are in ICU, up five from yesterday. Health officials say hospitalizations are a lagging indicator, meaning that they were expecting them to rise following the recent increase in cases in recent weeks.

The state also announced 681 newly confirmed coronavirus cases and nine new deaths from the virus. The 681 new cases came from 13,481 tests for a case positivity rate of 5.0%, which is the second straight day that rate has been at or above 5.0%. The seven-day rolling average for case positivity continues to slowly creep up and was at 4.9% today. State officials are hoping to keep the weekly average below 5.0% on a weekly basis.

The Governor is keeping a close eye on those numbers as he prepares to announce plans for Minnesota schools tomorrow. Walz visited a suburban Minneapolis packaging facility Wednesday to publicize the state’s effort to distribute four million masks to make it easier for businesses and state residents to comply with a recently issued order that masks be worn in public spaces.

In the Lakeland viewing area, there were 26 new cases officially reported by the state in the following counties:

• Beltrami County – 7
• Cass County – 1
• Crow Wing County – 4
• Hubbard County – 1
• Itasca County – 1
• Koochiching County – 1
• Mille Lacs County – 2
• Morrison County – 1
• Todd County – 2
• Polk County – 2
• Wadena County – 3