ST PAUL, Minn. — Thursday, Dec. 17
- Modified COVID-19 restrictions will take effect on Saturday, Dec. 19
- Negotiators are nearing an agreement on a second stimulus check in federal aid bill
- Minnesota prepares to begin administering COVID-19 vaccine, next batch to arrive at the end of the week
- COVID-19 cases trending down across state, deaths and hospitalizations remain high
The Minnesota Department of Health says an additional 2,775 cases of coronavirus were added to state totals over the past day, based on results from 47,704 tests (42,091 PCR, 5,613 Antigen) processed in private and state labs. Health officials consider a positive PCR test a confirmed case of COVID-19, while a positive Antigen test is labeled a probable case.
The new positives bring Minnesota's total cases of the virus to 389,171 since the pandemic arrived. Of those cases, 11,329 are based on Antigen tests.
An additional 83 deaths from the virus were reported in the past 24 hours. Thursday's reported deaths bring the total in Minnesota to 4,658 since the onset of the pandemic.
Total hospitalizations since the start of the pandemic have now reached 20,172, with 4,353 of those patients requiring ICU care.
Currently, 933 beds in hospitals across the state are being used to treat COVID patients, a number that is gradually decreasing. 289 people are also in the ICU, for a total of 1,222 patients being treated for the virus throughout Minnesota.
Hospital bed availability in the Twin Cities fell on Thursday. 3% of non-ICU beds are currently open, and 6.5% of ICU beds in the metro area are available.
Young adults make up the largest number of COVID cases in Minnesota, with 20 to 24-year-olds accounting for 40,059 cases and three deaths, followed by those 25 to 29 with 34,995 cases and six deaths. People 30 to 34 have recorded 32,428 cases with nine deaths.
The largest grouping of fatalities involves those ages 85 to 89, with 875 deaths in just 5,105 cases.
Hennepin County reports the most COVID activity in the state with 81,200 cases and 1,281 deaths, followed by Ramsey County with 34,750 cases and 613 deaths, Dakota County with 28,025 cases and 245 deaths, and Anoka County with 27,329 cases and 272 fatalities.
Cook County in northeastern Minnesota reports the least COVID activity with 99 cases and zero deaths.
Wednesday, Dec. 16
2:15 p.m.
On Wednesday afternoon, Gov. Tim Walz took questions from the media after announcing his planned modified restrictions for Minnesota. He also signed into law a bill that will give relief to small businesses impacted by his "pause," and extend unemployment benefits.
Walz said this legislation was the result of "true compromise," and thanked House and Senate leaders from both sides of the aisle.
After signing the bill, Walz pivoted to discussing the new COVID-19 guidelines in Minnesota.
He acknowledged the group of restaurants in Minnesota that plan to reopen despite the continued restrictions on indoor dining, and said that the state will handle those instances on a case-by-case basis. He added that it is no one's intention to arrest anyone.
Though cases and hospitalizations have been decreasing, Walz said that Minnesota's number went from "really horrendous" to "just horrendous."
"We can single out the things where we get the biggest bang for the buck, if you will, on the mitigation efforts," he said. "Specifically bars and restaurants, where we can get transmission rates lower and start to bring that back down."
Walz added that he believes numbers could rise again, but these mitigation efforts could help prevent that in the future.
When asked about reactions from industries that say the data provided from the state does not warrant further restrictions, Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Commissioner Jan Malcolm said that the disagreement tends to come when people are looking only at primary cases coming from, for instance, known bar and restaurant outbreaks.
She explained that those primary transmissions might not be very high, but the problem arises when primary transmissions in these indoor locations lead to widespread secondary transmission. According to Malcolm, one primary case can lead to 70 cases after four generations of transmission.
"In a forest fire it's very hard to find the hot spot when everything's on fire," she said. "So these data arguments just get harder and harder to satisfy people, but the macro level data about the risks of certain environments are certainly quite compelling, we think, and consistent."
Walz addressed that some families may be training, traveling or playing youth sports in other states.
"I can't dictate or enforce to everybody," he said. "What I do know is if you choose to do that, you're putting your family and others at risk. I don't think that makes you a bad person, I think it makes you a good parent. But if you choose to do these things, that's how we got into this situation as a country. Traveling out of state for sports activities specifically to avoid, or going to states that don't have mitigation in place, is risky."
He also said he is advocating for more testing in elementary schools to help students get back to in-person learning, and that the state plans to provide that testing capacity to schools.
Walz emphasized that he knows following these restrictions can be frustrating, but that Minnesotans deserve to have their leadership tell them what they need to hear, not what they want to hear.
"This isn't us versus an industry," he said. "This isn't parsing a number to try and get to a certain place, this is a global pandemic against a killer virus that we've learned much about and have a lot of tools to fight, but we've got a little left to fight. That sun is rising. This will be the week of the longest, darkest nights; next week starts moving toward spring."
1 p.m.
Gov. Tim Walz is expected to give a live address to Minnesotans at 1:15 p.m. giving details on changing restrictions for the holidays. KARE 11 will broadcast that announcement live on the air, on KARE11.com and on the KARE 11 YouTube page.
The modified restrictions, which include more in-person learning options for elementary students, limited outdoor dining for restaurants, limited social gatherings and gyms opening at 25% capacity, were spelled out in a news release Wednesday.
11 a.m.
After dropping down considerably for two days in a row, deaths from COVID-19 in Minnesota have shot back up.
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) reported 92 deaths on Wednesday, up from 21 reported Tuesday and 18 on Monday. Prior to Monday, deaths were substantially higher for five days, with an average of 83 per day.
Ninety-two deaths is the third-highest daily total so far in Minnesota, and was matched on Dec. 3. The state hit 94 on Dec. 11, and a record 101 on Nov. 27.
New COVID cases diagnosed in Minnesota continue to trend downward, with 2,279 reported by MDH on Wednesday. That number includes 2,033 cases diagnosed by PCR test, considered "confirmed," and 246 "probable" cases from antigen tests. The new cases reported Wednesday represent the lowest single-day total since Nov. 1.
Testing in the past 24-hour period was down from prior days, with 19,644 tests performed across the state. that number has been above 30,000 and often past the 40,000 and 50,000 mark over the past week.
COVID-19 hospital use continues to trend generally downward in Minnesota, although ICU bed use went up slightly on Tuesday, the most recent data available.
On Monday 300 ICU beds were in use across the state, and that number went up to 304 on Tuesday. However, general non-ICU bed use went from 1,009 on Monday to 973 on Tuesday.
Twin Cities metro non-ICU beds are the most limited in the state right now, with only 130 beds, or 3.5% of capacity, available. Metro intensive care units are less full, with 48 beds, or 7% available.
KARE 11’s coverage of the coronavirus is rooted in Facts, not Fear. Visit kare11.com/coronavirus for comprehensive coverage. Have a question? Text it to us at 763-797-7215. And get the latest coronavirus updates sent right to your inbox every morning. Subscribe to the KARE 11 Sunrise newsletter here. Help local families in need: www.kare11.com/give11.
The state of Minnesota has set up a data portal online at mn.gov/covid19.