ST PAUL, Minn — Wednesday, Aug. 19
- 17 new coronavirus deaths, most in two months
- MDH says safeguards already in place for possibly inaccurate tests
- Downward trend in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations "coincides in time" with the mask mandate
- Health officials recommend care with upcoming Labor Day travel
2 p.m.
There were 17 fatalities in the last 24 hours in Minnesota, nine of them were residents in long term care facilities.
Reported on the MDH website is a backlog of 25,000 tests that was just added, which is why the testing numbers were so high. MDH Commissioner Jan Malcolm said the overwhelming majority of the tests were negative.
Officials are urging college students to stay at home and avoid bars and house parties for at least 2 weeks before returning to their universities. Officials cited how other universities across the country had to scale back in-person learning due to COVID-19 spreading caused by social gatherings.
Officials said there are parents that have symptomatic children who are not getting the kids tested because they are afraid that a positive result would cause schools to scale back in-person learning. Officials are asking parents with kids who have coronavirus symptoms to keep them home because that is the measure that would truly lead to reopening schools.
11 a.m.
State health officials are reporting the highest number of COVID-19 in two months time.
Numbers released Wednesday by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) indicate 17 people died from the virus during the last 24-hour reporting period. That's the most since June 19, when the number of fatalities was also 17. The deaths reported Wednesday push Minnesota's total to 1,738. Of those fatalities 1,295, or 75%, occurred in long-term care or assisted living settings.
MDH says 567 new cases of coronavirus were confirmed based on 34,879 tests processed in private and state labs. That number of tests is nearly double the previous single day high, and MDH spokesman Doug Schultz has an explanation. He says Wednesday's testing data includes a backlog of more than 25,000 tests that were loaded into the system, the vast majority of which were negative tests MDH received from a number of labs going as far back as April.
Schultz says is the third time MDH has added backlogs to bring testing numbers up to date. The other days it was done were April 9 and June 3.
The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations across Minnesota remains solidly over 300 after showing signs that rates might be going down. Currently 321 people are being treated on an in-patient basis for the virus, with 152 of then in ICU.
Health officials say 60,242 people who at one time tested positive for coronavirus have recovered to the point they no longer require isolation.
Those between the ages of 20 and 29 continue to make up the largest group of Minnesota's COVID-19 cases with 15,431 and four deaths. People from 30 to 39 account for 12,116 cases and 14 deaths, while those 40 to 49 number 9,639 cases and 24 deaths. Minnesotans ages 80 to 89 comprise just 2,131 of the cases but 580 deaths, by far the most of any age group in the state.
Hennepin County has recorded the most cases with 20,853 with 855 deaths, followed by Ramsey County with 8,234 cases and 279 fatalities. Dakota County reports 4,992 cases and 108 deaths due to COVID-19.
(The above graph shows the percentage of positive tests from total tests performed from the week ending Aug. 11)
Tuesday, Aug. 18
4:30 p.m.
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) says it already had safeguards in place when using a COVID-19 diagnostic test flagged by the FDA for possible inaccuracies.
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration issued a letter to labs and health care providers on Monday, alerting them to a "risk of false results" from the Thermo Fisher Scientific TaqPath COVID-19 Combo Kit.
MDH began using this kit in mid-June, according to Dave Boxrud, the interim infectious disease section manager.
"Now the bulk of the testing that we do is with this ... particular test," he said.
Boxrud said they use the test for about 50-75% of the samples they process. He said the reagents it requires are much more available, while supply chain issues have plagued others.
Boxrud explains that the unique thing about this particular test is that the software does the analysis and spits out a result: positive, negative or other.
"That's a little bit different," he said. "Usually we have a little bit more of a process where we're able to look at the results a little closer."
Because the software is a "black box" when it comes to the analysis, Boxrud said MDH was already using a second software to analyze results and then comparing the two results.
11 a.m.
New numbers shared by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Tuesday reflect 359 new cases of COVID-19, reflecting what state health officials are referring to as a downward slope of the latest coronavirus wave.
Those new cases are based on 7,402 tests performed by private and state labs, a number that is the lowest in a week, and the second lowest number of single-day tests reported by MDH since July. 6.
Minnesota has now had 66,061 people test positive for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.
An additional nine people died from coronavirus in the past day, bringing the state total to 1,721. Of those deaths 1,287, or 75%, occurred in long-term care or assisted living settings.
The number of COVID-19 patients requiring hospital care nosed up over 300 after a two-day dip. Currently 304 people are being treated in Minnesota hospitals, with 154 in ICU.
MDH says 59,568 people who at one time tested positive for the virus have recovered sufficiently to no longer require isolation.
Those between the ages of 20 and 29, referred to by MDH in the past as the state's most social demographic, make up the largest group of Minnesota COVID-19 cases with 15,341 and four deaths. People 30 to 39 account for 12,018 cases and 14 deaths, while those 40 to 49 comprise 9,554 cases and 24 deaths. Minnesotans between 80 and 89 make up just 2,113 cases but 576 deaths, 33% of the state total.
Hennepin County has the most coronavirus cases in the state with 20,722 and 851 deaths, followed by Ramsey County with 8,170 cases and 275 fatalities. Dakota County reports 4,921 cases and 106 deaths.
KARE 11’s coverage of the coronavirus is rooted in Facts, not Fear. Visit kare11.com/coronavirus for comprehensive coverage, find out what you need to know about the Midwest specifically, learn more about the symptoms, and see what businesses are open as the state slowly lifts restrictions. 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.