State health officials are cautioning families to make plans in case children’s caregivers fall ill from COVID-19 as the number of cases continues to climbing, warning that all Minnesotans must do more to halt the virus’ spread.

Eight new COVID-19 deaths were reported in Minnesota on Wednesday. Provided

“We are, in fact, at a worrisome point that our numbers are going up,” Dr. Ruth Lynfield, the state epidemiologist, said of the two-week trend in daily case counts. “This really is a moment for all of us to take a step back and think about what we can do to slow transmission.”

So far, state leaders have emphasized personal responsibility when it comes to mask-wearing, social distancing and hygiene. DFL Gov. Tim Walz is weighing a statewide mask mandate, but has yet to enact one — despite pleas from medical groups and the state Health Department.

Walz himself expressed concern earlier this week that Minnesotans were lagging on their mask-wearing. But Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, R-East Gull Lake, have said a statewide mandate would be a mistake.

As mask use appears to lag, cases continue to tick up and the state is encouraging parents to make a plan in case they or their kids’ caregivers fall ill with COVID-19. Kris Ehresmann, the state’s infectious disease director, said parents should pull together information on children’s medical and educational needs, routines and comforts. The Health Department has posted “make a plan” guidance on its website.

Lynfield said it will be “a long time in the best scenario” before an effective COVID-19 vaccine becomes available. Until then, she said, people shouldn’t let down their guard, no matter how tired they are of wearing a mask.

“It is really up to us to make the choice to limit the spread,” Lynfield said. “The virus is out there. We want to be able to live in a pandemic as best we can.”

Here are the latest coronavirus statistics: 

• 43,742 cases confirmed (578 new) via 790,497 tests
• 1,518 deaths (8 new)
• 4,495 cases requiring hospitalization
• 254 people remain hospitalized; 106 in intensive care
• 38,179 patients no longer requiring isolation

20-somethings drive new cases

The newest counts come as state health officials continue to worry about the recent spike of coronavirus cases in younger Minnesotans, with current fears including that those infected will inadvertently spread the virus to more vulnerable populations.

Minnesotans in their 20s now make up the age group with the most confirmed cases, with more than 10,000 since the outbreak started. The median age of Minnesotans infected has been trending down in recent weeks and is now below 38 years old.

While current hospitalization counts in Minnesota remain relatively low, “we are likely going to see increases in hospitalizations because of the ripple effect” of younger people becoming infected, said Ehresmann, adding that young adults “don’t live in a vacuum.”

Amid recent case upticks, worries over another PPE shortage

State health officials on Wednesday also noted that there are some personal protective equipment supply issues popping up again globally. Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said that hospitals have their own supplies in addition to a shared stockpile, and that the state currently has about 106 days worth of N95 respirator masks and 60 days of nonlatex gloves.

She said there has been some testing supplies shortages in recent days, and she expects similar shortages with personal protective equipment.

“We’re not assuming we have enough,” she said, “we do have a very good supply right now, but because of what we’re seeing with global supply chain issues reemerging, we’re continuing to look to source additional supplies of some of the high quality masks and gowns and the like that we anticipate needing as this pandemic evolves.”

Malcolm said she expects the demand to grow in the fall as the flu season begins.

Walz working on schools plan

The governor on Wednesday said he is working on a plan to get K-12 students back in classrooms safely. In an interview with WCCO, Walz said he planned to spend some of his day working on a plan for the upcoming academic year.

Walz and other state leaders have told schools to prepare for three different scenarios for resuming school in the fall: distance learning, in-person learning or a hybrid of the two approaches. Officials have said that they will announce by the end of July which scenario districts and charters should choose.

Meatpacking hot spots remain

Many of the outbreaks outside the Twin Cities metro area are focused around meatpacking plants. Officials have intensified testing in those hot spots, uncovering more infections.

That includes Mower County in southeastern Minnesota, where there were 994 confirmed cases as of Wednesday. Mower County is home to Hormel Foods and Quality Pork Processors. Both have been partnering with Mayo Clinic to ramp up employee testing.

While some of Mower County’s positive cases are associated with people who work in the facilities and with the people they live with, county officials say they are also seeing transmission among people who live in the county but work in other counties where coronavirus is present.

Nobles, in southwestern Minnesota, reported 1,698 confirmed cases as of Wednesday with six deaths. About 1 in 13 people now have tested positive for COVID-19 in the county since the pandemic began, although the count of new cases has slowed considerably in recent weeks.

Worthington’s massive JBS pork processing plant was the epicenter of the Nobles outbreak. The JBS plant shut on April 20 but has since reopened with expanded hygiene and health monitoring measures.

Similar problems have been reported in Stearns County, where COVID-19 cases tied to two packing plants — Pilgrim’s Pride poultry plant in Cold Spring and Jennie-O Turkey in Melrose — skyrocketed in May. An undisclosed number of workers at both plants have tested positive for the virus.

There were about 55 confirmed cases in Stearns County in early May. By Wednesday, confirmed cases were at 2,575 with 19 deaths.

Kandiyohi County in west-central Minnesota is also dealing with a significant caseload more than two months after officials with the Jennie-O turkey processing plant there said some employees had tested positive for the coronavirus.

As of Wednesday, the Health Department reported 600 people have now tested positive in the county, the same as Monday. The county had confirmed three COVID-19 cases in late April.

Cases have also climbed noticeably in Lyon County (364 cases), around a turkey processor in Marshall. Cases the past few weeks have also grown in Cottonwood County (144 cases), home to a pork processing plant in Windom in southern Minnesota, but the counts there have since stabilized.