Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Minnesota’s surge in COVID-19 cases continued Friday with 5,552 new cases and 46 deaths reported. 

State Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said it has been the deadliest week thus far during the pandemic and that new cases have doubled in the last week. 

The state has now had 207,339 total cases since the beginning of the pandemic, of which more than 45,000 cases are still considered active and 1,424 people are hospitalized, including 293 in intensive care. 

The number of deaths on Friday was the second highest in a single day that the state has seen since the pandemic started. Deaths were reported in 29 counties, including one person in their early 20s with no preexisting conditions. All of the remaining deaths were people in their 50s or older. Thirty-three resided in long-term care or assisted living facilities, and one lived in a group home or residential behavioral health facility. 

The state has now had 2,839 deaths, of which 1,954 resided in long-term care or assisted living facilities.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said the state has had nearly 250 COVID-19 deaths in the last seven days.

He encouraged people to wear face masks, social distance and wash their hands to prevent further spread.

“If we’re going to beat this thing, now is the time,” he said. 

While he said another complete shutdown was not likely, more mitigation and changes may need to happen in the coming weeks. 

Dr. Michael Olsterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota who has been called to serve on President-Elect Joe Biden’s coronavirus task force, encouraged people to find alternative ways to celebrate the upcoming holidays and said he has heard far too many cases of young people coming home to be with their families for special celebrations, unknowingly transmitting the virus, and then a few weeks later one of their loved ones has died. 

“The ultimate love for your family is to protect them, however you need to do that,” he said. 

Olsterholm said four weeks ago, he made a statement that the country was entering the darkest days fo the pandemic. The country is in a period of exponential case growth, and there could easily be well into the mid- to high 200,000 new cases a day nationwide if there aren’t changes made. 

He said the next eight to 10 weeks will define the pandemic and asked Minnesotans to do their part through the first quarter of next year when he believes there will be safe and effective vaccines available. 

Local cases

Freeborn County Public Health reported two new lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases on Friday, increasing the county’s total cases to 956.

The county health department stated the new cases included one person in their 20s and one person in their 60s. There are now 131 active cases in the county. Seven people are presently hospitalized, and 59 have been hospitalized at some point during their illness.

Faribault County had seven new cases, increasing its total to 341; Mower County had seven and has had 1,720; Steele County had 18 and has had 1,074 total cases; and Waseca County had seven new cases and has had 1,031 total cases. 

The state reported its highest number of tests completed in a single day with 51,241 tests completed, including 48,915 PCR tests and 2,326 antigen tests.

Officials said even with the increases in test volumes, cases are going up faster than testing. 

The state’s seven-day average positivity rate increased from 9.8% a week ago to 13.1% this week. 

Freeborn County’s positivity rate was listed at 5% in the Department of Health’s weekly report.

 

 

Minnesota COVID-19 cases, deaths

County	Total confirmed cases	Total probable cases	Total cases	Total deaths
Aitkin	415	3	418	10
Anoka	14,416	399	14,815	187
Becker	1,153	5	1,158	4
Beltrami	1,423	2	1,425	13
Benton	1,869	38	1,907	28
Big Stone	224	1	225	1
Blue Earth	2,779	2	2,781	8
Brown	692	1	693	5
Carlton	973	95	1,068	8
Carver	2,685	27	2,712	9
Cass	831	2	833	8
Chippewa	618	2	620	6
Chisago	2,056	42	2,098	3
Clay	3,572	10	3,582	50
Clearwater	280	0	280	3
Cook	39	0	39	0
Cottonwood	447	1	448	0
Crow Wing	2,208	3	2,211	24
Dakota	14,345	146	14,491	157
Dodge	525	0	525	0
Douglas	1,476	7	1,483	15
Faribault	341	0	341	0
Fillmore	403	1	404	0
Freeborn	946	0	946	5
Goodhue	1,058	2	1,060	20
Grant	156	0	156	5
Hennepin	47,206	328	47,534	1,035
Houston	435	3	438	2
Hubbard	716	2	718	13
Isanti	1,092	37	1,129	10
Itasca	1,258	0	1,258	19
Jackson	306	1	307	1
Kanabec	386	2	388	11
Kandiyohi	2,471	5	2,476	8
Kittson	118	3	121	1
Koochiching	242	1	243	5
Lac qui Parle	217	0	217	3
Lake	209	7	216	0
Lake of the Woods	62	5	67	1
Le Sueur	925	1	926	7
Lincoln	247	1	248	1
Lyon	1,428	2	1,430	7
Mahnomen	168	0	168	3
Marshall	292	3	295	6
Martin	760	0	760	19
McLeod	1,111	2	1,113	6
Meeker	646	2	648	5
Mille Lacs	956	11	967	24
Morrison	1,284	12	1,296	16
Mower	1,703	17	1,720	21
Murray	401	0	401	3
Nicollet	1,041	1	1,042	21
Nobles	2,712	2	2,714	25
Norman	236	0	236	5
Olmsted	4,437	1	4,438	30
Otter Tail	1,670	4	1,674	11
Pennington	354	4	358	2
Pine	840	18	858	4
Pipestone	495	0	495	17
Polk	1,540	51	1,591	17
Pope	316	0	316	0
Ramsey	19,712	297	20,009	424
Red Lake	130	2	132	3
Redwood	466	2	468	14
Renville	440	7	447	14
Rice	2,452	14	2,466	21
Rock	468	3	471	9
Roseau	554	91	645	1
Scott	5,308	28	5,336	49
Sherburne	3,583	74	3,657	30
Sibley	409	0	409	3
St. Louis	5,170	46	5,216	82
Stearns	9,191	174	9,365	69
Steele	1,073	1	1,074	5
Stevens	290	2	292	1
Swift	357	0	357	3
Todd	1,343	2	1,345	12
Traverse	89	0	89	0
Wabasha	585	2	587	1
Wadena	471	8	479	6
Waseca	1,031	0	1,031	10
Washington	9,584	127	9,711	89
Watonwan	642	0	642	4
Wilkin	230	0	230	4
Winona	1,942	1	1,943	22
Wright	4,540	47	4,587	27
Yellow Medicine	426	4	430	8
Unknown/missing	392	4	396	0