ST PAUL, Minn. — Sunday, June 6
- Minnesota's new cases back under 300
- Walz announces pop-up community vaccination clinic at MSP Airport
- 'Cheers for the Vaccine' campaign offers beer, cocktails for new vaccinations
- Gov. Walz announces vaccine incentives in Minnesota
The Minnesota Department of Health announced 271 new COVID-19 cases Sunday. Minnesota's new cases have remained under 300 most days in the past week.
MDH also reported 4 additional deaths from the virus, bringing the state's total to 7,465. Of those cases, 4,442 (about 59.5%) were tied to long-term care or assisted living facilities.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, MDH reports that 602,686 people in the state have tested positive for the virus. Of those cases, 43,582 came from antigen tests and are considered a probable COVID case.
MDH says 2,958,628 people in Minnesota have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. That's about 65.1% of the state's eligible 16+ population. Of that group, 2,650,061 are fully vaccinated, or about 59.9% of the state's eligible 16+ population.
Officials have announced a series of new initiatives to get more people vaccinated and reach the state's goal of 70%, including chances at rewards for people who get vaccinated in a certain time frame.
One-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccines are available at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport beginning Saturday. Gov. Tim Walz announced Friday that the temporary clinic will provide the shots to travelers seven days a week at Terminal 1.
The MSP Airport event joins Duluth, Rochester, Bloomington (MOA), Saint Paul (Roy Wilkins Auditorium), Saint Paul (State Fairgrounds), St. Cloud, Mankato, Oakdale and Lino Lakes in the state’s Minnesota’s COVID-19 Community Vaccination Program.
Saturday, June 5
After nearly a week of new COVID-19 cases remaining under 300, the Minnesota Department of Health announced 302 new cases Saturday.
MDH also reported 16 additional deaths from the virus, bringing the state's total to 7,461. Of those cases, 4,441 (about 59.5%) were tied to long-term care or assisted living facilities.
Testing volume was lower than Friday's with a total of 14,803 PCR tests and 3,930 antigen tests.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, MDH reports that 602,428 people in the state have tested positive for the virus. Of those cases, 43,542 came from antigen tests and are considered a probable COVID case.
MDH says 2,951,297 people in Minnesota have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. That's about 65% of the state's eligible 16+ population. Of that group, 2,632,925 are fully vaccinated, or about 59.7% of the state's eligible 16+ population.
Officials have announced a series of new initiatives to get more people vaccinated and reach the state's goal of 70%, including chances at rewards for people who get vaccinated in a certain time frame.
One-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccines are available at the MSP airport beginning Saturday. Gov. Tim Walz announced Friday that the temporary clinic will provide the shots to travelers seven days a week at Terminal 1.
The MSP Airport event joins Duluth, Rochester, Bloomington (MOA), Saint Paul (Roy Wilkins Auditorium), Saint Paul (State Fairgrounds), St. Cloud, Mankato, Oakdale and Lino Lakes in the state’s Minnesota’s COVID-19 Community Vaccination Program.
Friday, June 4
New COVID cases remain at encouraging levels, according to numbers released Friday by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH).
Data collected by the department over the past day says 257 new infections were recorded across the state, bringing Minnesota's case total to 602,134 since the pandemic began. Of those cases 43,499 were based on antigen tests. MDH considers a positive antigen test a probable COVID case, while a positive PCR test is considered confirmed.
Reported testing volume is up significantly over the past few days, with 26,453 tests (22,215 PCR, 4,238 antigen) being processed in private and state labs.
The state's four most populous counties report the most COVID activity: Hennepin County has recorded 124,408 cases and 1,757 deaths, followed by Ramsey County with 52,280 cases and 888 deaths, Dakota County with 46,648 cases and 465 deaths, and Anoka County with 42,549 cases and 454 fatalities.
MDH says an additional eight deaths were linked to COVID, bringing state fatalities to 7,445. Of those deaths 4,439 (60%) have links to assisted living or long-term care sites.
Hospitalizations related to COVID remain flat, with 252 people being treated on an inpatient basis as of Thursday, 66 with symptoms serious enough to require ICU treatment. Total hospitalizations since the start of the pandemic are now up to 32,189.
Governor Tim Walz and state health officials continue to expand vaccination offerings in an attempt to boost numbers and meet the goal of having 70% of eligible Minnesotans at least partially vaccinated by July 4.
Walz announced Friday that a new temporary pop-up community clinic will be opened inside Terminal 1 at MSP International Airport, to provide the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine to travelers seven days a week beginning Saturday, June 5.
“Today, we’re making it even easier for Minnesota travelers to get fully vaccinated,” said Walz in a released statement. “The Johnson & Johnson vaccine offered at the airport is just a single dose, so you can now protect yourself from COVID-19 in one stop while you catch your flight. We are working hard to offer these safe and effective vaccines to every Minnesotan who wants them, and we are proud to offer options as convenient as this one for travelers.”
The MSP Airport event joins Duluth, Rochester, Bloomington (MOA), Saint Paul (Roy Wilkins Auditorium), Saint Paul (State Fairgrounds), St. Cloud, Mankato, Oakdale and Lino Lakes in the state’s Minnesota’s COVID-19 Community Vaccination Program.
MDH says as of Wednesday 64.9% of eligible Minnesotans age 16 and up have received at least one dose, 2,942,626 people. Of those who have received COVID shots, 2,622,590 have completed the COVID series and are considered completely vaccinated (59.5%).
A total of 5,338,495 doses of vaccine have been administered across the state. In the Twin Cities metro Hennepin, Ramsey and Washington Counties have had more than 70% of those eligible vaccinated with at least one dose. Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Scott and Wright are vaccinated at the 50-70% level, and Sherburne County lags behind with less than 50% of its eligible population partially vaccinated.
Thursday, June 3
11 a.m.
While state leaders and health officials continue to express optimism about trends in COVID-19 cases, on Thursday comes a reminder of the human toll the pandemic continues to take.
Data released by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) reflects the deaths of 10 more Minnesotans from the virus, bringing total fatalities in the state to 7,437. Of those deaths 4,438 (60%) are linked to long-term care or assisted living facilities.
MDH has recorded 238 new COVID cases in the past day, up from 128 reported Wednesday but well below the levels seen in late April and early May. The new cases are based on results from 9,706 tests (8,127 PCR, 1,579 antigen) processed in private and state labs. That testing volume is low, but still more than twice the number of COVID tests reported Wednesday.
Minnesota has now recorded 601,881 total COVID infections, with 43,449 of those cases based on antigen tests. MDH considers a positive antigen test a probable COVID case, while a positive PCR test is considered a confirmed case.
Hospitalizations across the state due to COVID remain fairly steady, with 252 people being treated on an inpatient basis as of Wednesday, 72 of them with symptoms serious enough to require ICU care. Total hospitalizations are at 32,148 since the pandemic started.
MDH says 592,091 people who tested positive for the virus are now healthy enough that isolation is no longer required.
The state vaccination dashboard says nearly 60% of eligible Minnesotans 16 and older (2,610,957 people) have completed their COVID shot series and are considered fully immunized. That's just behind the number of people who have received at least one dose (2,934,955), 64.7% of the population eligible to be vaccinated. MDH reports less than 80,000 Minnesotans between the ages of 12 and 15 have received at least one COVID shot.
A total of 5,320,162 doses have been administered in the state.
