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 March 29, 2021:
Five more Minnesotans have died of COVID-19, the Minnesota Department of Health said Monday, for a total of 6,835.
Of the people whose deaths were announced Monday, two were in their 90s, one was in their 80s and two were in their 70s. Two of the five people whose deaths announced Monday were residents of long-term care facilities.
MDH also said Monday there have been 516,608 total cases of COVID-19 in Minnesota. That number is up 1,550 from the total announced on Sunday and is based on 31,283 new tests. The seven-day positive case average, which lags by a week, is 4.7 percent. That’s below a 5-percent threshold that state officials say represents a concerning sign of disease spread, but the positivity rate has been trending upward lately, signaling increasing transmission of COVID-19.
As of Saturday, the most recent data available, 1,609,277 Minnesotans — roughly 28.9 percent of the population — have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. That’s an increase of 18,451 from the day prior. MDH reports 990,854 Minnesotans, about 17.8 percent of the population, have completed a vaccine series.
Now 80.8 percent of Minnesotans 65 and older have received at least one dose of a vaccine, and 35.9 percent of residents between the ages of 50 and 64 have at least one shot.
The most recent data available show 88 Minnesotans are hospitalized in intensive care with COVID-19, and 255 are in the hospital with COVID-19 not in intensive care. You can find more information about Minnesota’s current ICU usage and capacity here.
More information on cases can be found here.
Today on MinnPost
- What an MDH study of Life Time fitness tells us about COVID-19 transmission in gyms.
- Walz uses State of the State to urge final push against COVID-19: ‘Brighter days are here, and even more are coming.’
- 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.
Around the web
- The coronavirus is changing, and so is the disease it causes. A look at how COVID-19 is different now, from the Atlantic.
- The CDC says the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are very effective in real-world conditions at preventing infections. Story by the New York Times.
- The pandemic has masked an ongoing child abuse crisis, reports the Associated Press.
MDH’s coronavirus website: https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/index.html
MDH’s phone line for COVID-19 questions, Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m: 651-297-1304
