MinnPost provides updates on coronavirus in Minnesota Sunday through Friday. The information is published following a press phone call with members of the Walz administration or after the release of daily COVID-19 figures by the Minnesota Department of Health.
Here are the latest updates from October 2:
- 101,366 confirmed cases; 2,059 deaths
- MDH responds to case of COVID in President Donald Trump
- School-specific COVID-19 data released
101,366 confirmed cases; 2,059 deaths
Ten more Minnesotans have died of COVID-19, the Minnesota Department of Health said Friday, for a total of 2,059.
Of the people whose deaths were announced Friday, two were in their 90s, five were in their 80s, two were in their 70s and one was in their 60s. 7 of the 10 deaths announced Friday were among residents of long-term care facilities. Of the 2,059 COVID-19 deaths reported in Minnesota, 1,472 have been among residents of long-term care.
The current death toll only includes Minnesotans with lab-confirmed positive COVID-19 tests.
MDH also said Friday there have been 101,366 total confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Minnesota. The number of confirmed cases is up 1,166 from Thursday’s count and is based on 32,077 new tests. You can find the seven-day positive case average here.
Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 7,793 hospitalizations and 2,156 ICU admissions in Minnesota due to COVID-19. More information on COVID-related hospitalizations in Minnesota can be found here. For information on current ICU usage and capacity, click here.
Of the 101,366 confirmed positive cases in Minnesota, 90,492 no longer need to be isolated, meaning they are no longer believed to be contagious.
More information on cases can be found here.
MDH responds to case of COVID in President Donald Trump
As I’m sure you’ve read by now, President Donald Trump has tested positive for COVID-19 after visiting Minnesota earlier this week. Peter Callaghan has a roundup of what we know about his time in Minnesota — and who that might mean was exposed to the virus — here.
In a statement Friday, MDH warned that transmission may have occurred at campaign events in Minnesota.
Attendees: Anyone who attended the events and has symptoms should get tested as soon as possible.
Those without symptoms should consider being tested because they could be presymptomatic or asymptomatic. It’s best to be tested five to seven days after the event, and if negative, be tested again 12 days after the event. MDH advised attendees to be tested in their own community by their regular health care provider if possible.
Those in contact with President Trump: Those who came into direct contact with the president “needs to quarantine and should get tested,” MDH said.
The full statement can be found here. Tests are available at a testing site set up in Duluth at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center. Information about other community testing sites can be found here.
For those quarantining, Ehresmann said Friday morning that it’s important to quarantine for the full 14 days, even with a negative test result. The incubation period for coronavirus is between two and 14 days, and the infectious period can start two days before symptoms begin.
“People oftentime think, I’ve been exposed, I’m gonna get tested, I test negative, they think that’s sort of a get-out-of-jail-free card. But no, it can’t be,” she said.
School-specific COVID-19 data released
MDH began releasing data on individual pre-K through grade 12 schools that have five or more confirmed cases of COVID-19 among students or staff. The schools included in the most recent data are:
- Crow Wing County: Brainerd Senior High School
- Freeborn County: Albert Lea Senior High School
- Isanti County: Isanti Middle School
- Martin County: Fairmont Jr./Sr. High School, Martin Luther High School, St. Paul Lutheran School
- Pine County: Hinckley Elementary
The data will be updated here on Thursdays. Schools will be removed from the list after 28 days with no new lab-confirmed cases, Ehresmann said.
Since Aug. 1, 864 lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases have been confirmed among students or staff in pre-K through 12 school buildings; 448 cases among staff and 416 among students.
The data include only confirmed cases, and cases where a student or staff member was on-campus at some point when they may have been contagious, so would not include students distance learning but affiliated with a school.
In the most recent MDH data, 242 pre-K through 12 school facilities reported one case, 77 had between two and four cases, and seven have had five or more.
As of Aug. 1, 97 higher ed institutions have reported lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases: 58 facilities with between one and 10 cases; 11 facilities with between 11 and 30 cases; seven facilities with between 31 and 99 cases; and one facility with 100 or more cases.
Ehresmann stressed that just because there are cases in school students or staff doesn’t mean that the transmission occurred at school.
This information will be updated in MDH’s weekly report.
Today on MinnPost
- What we know about Trump’s time in Minnesota before testing positive for coronavirus.
- Asking yourself how long it’s been since this all started? Us too.
- As always, a look at the numbers on the MinnPost COVID-19 dashboard.
[cms_ad:x104]
Around the web
- President Donald Trump has mild COVID-19 symptoms, and other updates on today’s news from the New York Times.
- Explainer: What happens to the U.S. presidential election if a candidate dies or becomes incapacitated? From Reuters.
- How safe is Biden, who debated Trump Tuesday? From the Atlantic.
MDH’s coronavirus website: https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/index.html
Hotline, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.: 651-201-3920
