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Several area counties saw increased lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases Wednesday, and one county saw its first death, according to data released from the Minnesota Department of Health.

The death was reported in Mower County of a person in their 80s, the state department said.

The county also saw six new cases, pushing its total to 78.

Freeborn County saw five new cases, according to the Freeborn County Public Health Department, increasing the county’s total to 68. The cases included two people in their 30s, two in their 40s and one in their 60s.

The county department stated the state health department is no longer reporting to counties the number of people out of isolation at the county level, so those numbers will not be reported in the future. They are, however, still being reported at the state level.

The Minnesota Department of Health said Steele and Waseca counties each saw one new case, increasing their totals to 116 and 22, respectively.

Statewide, there have been 17,670 total lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases, up 645 from the previous day, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. Of the total, 12,227 are out of isolation.

There were 29 newly reported deaths, bringing the total number of deaths to 777 across the state. In addition to the Mower County death, other deaths were reported in Anoka, Blue Earth, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Stearns and Washington counties.

Out of the total number of deaths, 635 have resided in long-term care or assisted living facilities.

The state department stated the number of people hospitalized now sits at 550, with 212 in intensive care.

Hennepin County continues to have the largest number of cases with 5,838. Out of that number, 485 have died.

The next largest number of cases have been reported in Ramsey County with 1,846 and Stearns County with 1,831. Olmsted County has had 488 cases.

Across the state, 167,338 tests have been completed, including 19,189 through the Minnesota Department of Health’s public health lab and 148,149 through external laboratories.