By Albert Lea Tribune and Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota health officials reported a decline in newly confirmed COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, but state health officials have cautioned against reading too much into short-term fluctuations after the extended holiday weekend.

The Minnesota Department of Health reported 3,570 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday and 22 new deaths, figures that are low by standards of recent weeks. Throughout the pandemic, daily numbers on Tuesdays have typically been lower, due to reduced testing and diagnostic activity on weekends.

The lower numbers reported Tuesday come amid fewer tests being conducted. A total of 22,757 tests were reported Monday — just about half of the number of tests reported a day before, and less than one-fourth of the total number of tests reported on Saturday.

There were 1,564 new cases per 100,000 people in Minnesota over the past two weeks, which ranks fourth in the country for new cases per capita. One in every 133 people in Minnesota tested positive in the past week, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

A total of 3,615 people in Minnesota have died from COVID-19 complications since the pandemic began.

Any impact from the Thanksgiving holiday weekend likely won’t be fully known for a few more days, as symptoms of COVID-19 emerge up to 14 days after someone is exposed. Gov. Tim Walz has said that guidance against gatherings over Thanksgiving will likely be similar for Christmas.

Local numbers

The Freeborn County Public Health Department reported 10 new lab-confirmed cases in the county on Tuesday, increasing the county’s cumulative cases to 1,564. 

Of that total, 157 are considered active cases, and 27 people are hospitalized. Eighty people have been hospitalized at some point during their illness. 

The new cases included the following:

• One person between 15 and 19
• Three people in their 20s
• Three people in their 30s
• One person in their 40s
• One person in their 50s
• One person in their 60s

The following is an update on other area counties:

• Faribault County: Eight new lab-confirmed cases; 580 total cases
• Mower County: 20 new lab-confirmed cases, one probable case; 2,674 total cases
• Steele County: 31 new lab-confirmed cases; 2,022 total cases
• Waseca County: Eight new lab-confirmed cases; 1,406 total cases

 

Minnesota COVID-19 cases, deaths

County	Total confirmed cases	Total probable cases	Total cases	Total deaths
Aitkin	782	6	788	30
Anoka	21,699	1,142	22,841	228
Becker	2,096	20	2,116	16
Beltrami	2,194	41	2,235	18
Benton	3,004	84	3,088	51
Big Stone	325	3	328	2
Blue Earth	4,204	9	4,213	16
Brown	1,457	15	1,472	15
Carlton	1,748	187	1,935	16
Carver	4,819	108	4,927	15
Cass	1,468	12	1,480	10
Chippewa	925	9	934	7
Chisago	3,102	102	3,204	13
Clay	5,113	28	5,141	57
Clearwater	527	7	534	8
Cook	78	0	78	0
Cottonwood	870	38	908	4
Crow Wing	3,676	36	3,712	34
Dakota	22,246	411	22,657	192
Dodge	888	0	888	0
Douglas	2,656	60	2,716	38
Faribault	579	1	580	2
Fillmore	728	4	732	0
Freeborn	1,556	8	1,564	6
Goodhue	2,113	10	2,123	28
Grant	287	1	288	6
Hennepin	66,786	1,127	67,913	1,121
Houston	707	27	734	4
Hubbard	1,160	11	1,171	27
Isanti	1,868	95	1,963	17
Itasca	1,962	9	1,971	23
Jackson	499	7	506	1
Kanabec	649	9	658	13
Kandiyohi	4,257	28	4,285	23
Kittson	215	18	233	8
Koochiching	400	5	405	6
Lac qui Parle	389	7	396	3
Lake	396	37	433	6
Lake of the Woods	97	5	102	1
Le Sueur	1,488	13	1,501	11
Lincoln	365	3	368	1
Lyon	2,233	13	2,246	11
Mahnomen	306	1	307	4
Marshall	505	9	514	9
Martin	1,190	4	1,194	20
McLeod	2,200	13	2,213	15
Meeker	1,341	15	1,356	10
Mille Lacs	1,550	38	1,588	31
Morrison	2,318	60	2,378	29
Mower	2,646	28	2,674	23
Murray	596	5	601	3
Nicollet	1,645	10	1,655	26
Nobles	3,102	15	3,117	30
Norman	356	1	357	7
Olmsted	6,895	10	6,905	34
Otter Tail	3,215	48	3,263	23
Pennington	654	15	669	8
Pine	1,369	47	1,416	8
Pipestone	733	10	743	18
Polk	2,507	128	2,635	25
Pope	555	2	557	1
Ramsey	27,813	704	28,517	507
Red Lake	213	9	222	3
Redwood	985	11	996	19
Renville	870	43	913	29
Rice	4,185	44	4,229	37
Rock	782	11	793	9
Roseau	1,119	104	1,223	4
Scott	8,563	104	8,667	55
Sherburne	5,780	302	6,082	43
Sibley	799	10	809	4
St. Louis	8,867	219	9,086	112
Stearns	13,789	342	14,131	117
Steele	2,016	6	2,022	7
Stevens	525	5	530	3
Swift	597	9	606	8
Todd	1,845	7	1,852	14
Traverse	150	0	150	1
Wabasha	1,083	4	1,087	1
Wadena	811	20	831	6
Waseca	1,402	4	1,406	11
Washington	14,028	342	14,370	117
Watonwan	869	2	871	4
Wilkin	399	1	400	5
Winona	2,861	20	2,881	31
Wright	7,723	343	8,066	44
Yellow Medicine	639	29	668	12
Unknown/missing	381	14	395	0