Credit: New Jersey National Guard via Flickr
Friday’s COVID update from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) includes 1,114 new cases and 28 new deaths.
The recently reported deaths bring the state total to 6,168 during the pandemic. Of those deaths, 63.4% (3,911) were long-term care residents, including 11 of the 28 reported Friday
The new deaths included two people aged 45-49 in Anoka and Hennepin counties.
As of Jan. 27, the state reported that 345,636 people had received at least one dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine – an increase of more than 25,000 the day before – while 96,842 people had completed both doses of the vaccine needed for vaccines. . „Full effect – an increase of over 11,500.
MDH has a public dashboard to track the progress of the vaccine in Minnesota and you can view it here.
Two new variants of coronavirus have been confirmed in Minnesota, including the first known case of the Brazil P.1 variant in the United States. This case involves a Minnesota who recently traveled to Brazil. There are 8 confirmed cases of variant B.1.1.7. Both new strains are thought to be more transmissible.
Hospitalizations
Until January 28th. The number of people with COVID-19 hospitalized in Minnesota was 450. Of those hospitalized, 95 were in intensive care and 355 were receiving non-ICU treatment.
Statewide, 166 beds were available for the ICU. During the November increase, the state had less than 100 intensive care beds available. The number of beds available depends on the number of staff available, so the total is constantly changing.
Test rates and positivity
The 1,114 positive results from Friday’s update come from a total of 44,777 completed tests, creating a daily test positivity rate of 2.48%.
According to Johns Hopkins University, the test positive rate in Minnesota over the past seven days is 4.08%, making it one of the lowest rates in the country.
The World Health Organization recommends that a positive percentage rate (total of positives divided by total tests completed) of less than 5% for at least two weeks be required for the safe reopening of the economy. This 5% threshold is based on the total positives divided by the total tests.
Coronavirus in Minnesota by numbers
- Total tests: 6,513,797 (from 6,467,868)
- Tested persons: 3,244,005 (increasing from 3,233,070)
- People with at least 1 shot vaccine: 345,636 as of January 27 (from 320,347)
- Positive cases: 459,747 (of the 458,633)
- Deaths: 6,168 – 247 of which are “probable *” (increasing from 6,140)
- Patients who no longer need isolation: 443,253 (increasing from 442,600)
* Probable deaths are patients who died after a positive test using the COVID-19 antigen test, which is thought to be less accurate than the more common PCR test.