ST PAUL, Minn. — Friday, Aug. 27
- Nearly 300 students quarantined in Albert Lea schools
- MDH adds two new free testing sites in Bloomington and Saint Paul
- More than 500 people with COVID-19 in MN hospitals for the past seven consecutive recorded days
- Health officials announce 1,912 new cases, six new deaths
- U of M officially mandates COVID-19 vaccine for students after FDA fully approves Pfizer vaccine
- Anoka-Hennepin School District to require masks for K-6 students
2 p.m.
Officials with the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) are holding a media briefing Friday afternoon to provide an update on COVID-19 in the state.
During the briefing, MDH Commissioner Jan Malcolm said cases are quickly increasing in areas where children gather. She said 324 cases were reported this week from schools, camps and childcare, nearly a 50% increase from last week.
Malcolm said she was "troubled" by the news out of Albert Lea Area Schools, where 290 students are currently quarantined from exposure to COVID-19. She emphasized that MDH's guidance is that all people over the age of 12 get vaccinated against COVID before returning to in-person school activities, and everyone, regardless of vaccination status, should wear a mask in schools and during school activities.
She added that MDH cannot mandate schools follow this guidance, but the department is concerned that without a mandate, some schools and school districts are misunderstanding the importance of MDH's guidance.
"I want to be really clear on this point," she said. "This layered prevention approach is something we are strongly urging schools to follow. In the face of the highly contagious delta variant, there has never been a more important time than right now for everyone in schools where there is a high transmission of the virus to be masking and using the multiple layers of prevention available to prevent infection."
Minnesota Department of Education Commissioner Heather Mueller joined the call to echo MDH's guidance, and urged schools to put policies in place that require universal masking, quarantining and social distancing.
Mueller said the Department of Education is not tracking how many Minnesota school districts are currently following that guidance.
MDH Infectious Disease Director Kris Ehresmann addressed contact tracing from the State Fair, saying MDH will likely not have data on transmission of the virus at the fair until it's over. She reminded people it is possible to contract COVID-19 in crowded outdoor spaces, and said events like the fair are "risky environments."
11 a.m.
Hospitalization numbers continue to rise in Minnesota as the state attempts to fight the delta variant of COVID-19.
The Minnesota Department of Health said 590 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Thursday, the newest data available. Of those patients, 166 had symptoms severe enough for ICU care.
Minnesota's COVID-19 hospitalization numbers have been on the rise since mid-July. Thursday's total was the highest since May 1, 2021.
Six more Minnesotans have died from the virus, MDH reported Friday. Most of them were in their 70s or 80s, but one was between 65 and 69 years old. Since the beginning of the pandemic, nearly 7,800 people have lost their lives to COVID-19 in Minnesota.
MDH also reported 1,912 new COVID-19 cases in Minnesota, bringing the state's cumulative total to 644,190 reported cases.
Meanwhile, Minnesota reports that nearly 3.3 million people have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Most of that group -- about 3.09 million -- are considered fully vaccinated against the virus.
State and local leaders continue to push for more vaccinations, with incentives like a $100 gift card for some of those who get vaccinated at the State Fair. Fair organizers did not require attendees to wear masks, but "strongly encouraged" masking indoors and in crowded outdoor areas. Citing the lack of a vaccine or mask mandate, rock band Low Cut Connie decided days in advance not to play at the fair.
Also this week, in-person school is back in session. While some districts decided to require students to mask up, others kept masking optional. Albert Lea Area Schools decided to update its masking rules days into the school year after 36 people tested positive for the virus and nearly 300 students were placed in quarantine.
RELATED: 36 people test positive in Albert Lea schools during first week of class, hundreds in quarantine
State health officials plan to hold a COVID-19 briefing call Friday at 2 p.m. KARE 11 will stream the call live on kare11.com and on YouTube.
Thursday, Aug. 27
11 a.m.
COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to rise in Minnesota, according to the latest data from The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH).
On Thursday MDH reported 1,839 new cases of the virus. Those numbers were based on the results of 30,762 tests (23,375 PCR, 7,387 antigen) processed in private and state labs.
A positive PCR test is considered a confirmed COVID case, while a positive antigen test is considered probable.
MDH reported that as of Wednesday, 584 hospital beds across the state were being used for COVID-19 patients, with 165 of those patients in the ICU. This marks the sixth straight day with statewide COVID hospitalizations above 500.
Eleven additional deaths from the virus were also reported, bringing the total number of fatalities from the virus since the pandemic began to 7,793.
According to the most recent vaccination data from MDH, 3,295,189 people age 16 and older have received at least one shot (71.3%). Of that number 3,086,707 people have completed their COVID series and are considered completely vaccinated (67.2%).
10 a.m.
State health officials are announcing the opening of two semi-permanent COVID-19 testing sites that will offer free saliva testing to anyone who needs it.
The new sites will be located in Bloomington and Saint Paul, with testing beginning Monday, Aug. 30 at the Bloomington site and Tuesday, Aug. 31 in St. Paul.
Here are the locations of those sites.
Bloomington Testing Site
Former DMV
9930 Logan Ave. S
Monday – Friday (beginning Aug. 30)
11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Saint Paul Testing Site
Roy Wilkins Auditorium
175 West Kellogg Blvd.
Beginning Aug. 31:
Monday – Thursday
11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Sunday
10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) says demand for COVID-19 testing has increased throughout Minnesota due to concerns over the rapid spread of the Delta variant. They maintain that testing will remain critical to slowing the spread of COVID in coming months as students and teachers return to school, and activities move inside when the weather turns colder.