ST PAUL, Minn. —
- MDH reports 7,833 new cases, 33 new deaths
- New Oakdale vaccination site to open Sunday
- New Anoka COVID testing site to open Friday
- St. Paul and Minneapolis announce mask mandates for businesses
- FDA approves Pfizer boosters for children 12-15
- MDH: 90% of cases can be attributed to omicron
Friday, Jan. 7
3 p.m.
During a press briefing to discuss Minnesota's COVID-19 response, Minnesota Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm explained that the number of COVID infections and new cases is just a "partial picture" of the state's current situation.
"We've always known that there's more disease out there than our daily numbers show," Malcolm said, because as more people use at-home rapid tests, not every positive infection gets reported to the state.
"Whatever the case Minnesotans need to know that the omicron surge has reached Minnesota," she said.
Malcolm said that the state has ordered another 1.8 million at-home rapid tests to be distributed through schools, and another 150,000 rapid tests to be distributed through local public health departments, tribal health departments, food banks and other COVID community coordinators.
MDH epidemiologist Kris Ehresmann confirmed that the state is adopting the CDC's updated guidance on quarantining, including shortening the isolation period from 10 days to 5 days if someone with COVID-19 is asymptomatic.
The new quarantine guidelines also apply to recommendations for Minnesota schools.
When asked if the current wave of new cases attributed to the omicron variant could signal an end to the pandemic, and generate enough short-term immunity to be considered a "light at the end of the tunnel," both Malcolm and Ehresmann urged caution.
They said that the best case scenario is that yes, COVID would become an endemic and be something that we deal with "in the background" for the foreseeable future, but in both the short and long term, the virus still needs to be taken seriously.
2 p.m.
Amid a record number of COVID infections in Minnesota, state hospital officials are urging people to find testing outside of emergency departments to ease the pressure on an already strained system.
A statement released by the Minnesota Hospital Association said "hospitals are literally full" and they have "run out of words to describe what we are undergoing."
"Please do not go to emergency departments or urgent care centers for a COVID-19 test," the statement read, adding, "Please help us keep our emergency department capacity and staff available for medical emergencies."
For more information on available testing sites throughout the state, click here.
Read the association's full statement below:
We have run out of words to describe what we are undergoing - a crisis does not even come close; hospitals are literally full.
We urgently need the public’s help to keep our emergency departments available for medical emergencies.
Please do not go to emergency departments or urgent care centers for a COVID-19 test. Seek testing at one of the many state testing sites or use a home test kit. Please help us keep our emergency department capacity and staff available for medical emergencies.
The care capacity throughout all of Minnesota is severely limited - ICUs are full, emergency departments are full, medical-surgical units are full, hallways are full, and surgeries are being canceled. Hospitals and health systems are working together in real-time to meet this challenge and coordinate resources. They are essentially now functioning as one giant system of care to support our joint mission of serving all Minnesotans. To continue to serve the high volume of patients that need care for strokes, heart attacks, emergency surgeries, motor vehicle accidents, and COVID-19, we need your help now.
11 a.m.
Thousands of new COVID-19 cases were reported by the Minnesota Department of Health on Friday.
According to MDH, 7,833 more people have tested positive for the virus, bringing the total since the start of the pandemic to 1,064,065.
On Friday, MDH officials reported 33 new COVID deaths.
The new fatalities reported include a person in their 20s in Crow Wing County and a person in their 30s in Ramsey County.
Minnesota's cumulative death total is at 10,766 since the pandemic began.
Health officials say 5,197 deaths have taken place in long-term care or assisted living facilities.
According to MDH's latest data available, 1,467 people are being treated for COVID in hospitals around the state, with 1,198 in non-ICU beds and 269 in the ICU.
ICU bed space continues to be low across the state.
There are zero staffed pediatric ICU beds available in the central portion of the state, and six beds open in the metro.
MDH reported 8,825,025 total doses of vaccine have been administered in the state, with 3,771,106 people age 5 and older having received at least one shot (72.4%). Of that number 3,536,755 people have completed their COVID series and are considered completely vaccinated (67.9%).
Among children 5-11 years old, 165,582 kids have at least one shot (32%) and 125,986 have completed their vaccine series (25%).
The state vaccine dashboard says of the total doses that have been administered in Minnesota, 59.6% are Pfizer, 36.6% are Moderna and 3.8% are Johnson & Johnson.
The MDH is planning to hold a news conference about the new plan at 2 p.m.
KARE 11 plans to cover it live on our YouTube page, with links posted on our other social platforms.
8:00 a.m.
Governor Tim Walz announced Friday a new COVID-19 community vaccination site is opening in Oakdale.
The site at Inwood Oaks will be open on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays beginning Jan. 9.
Staff will offer first and second doses to Minnesotans 5 and older, and booster doses to Minnesotans 12 and older.
The large-scale site will be able to administer up to 1,000 doses per day, according to the news release.
"Today we continue to create new opportunities for Minnesotans to get vaccinated and boosted," said Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan in the news release. "With this site, we are once again meeting Minnesotan where they are, and we encourage every family to get in and get their shots ASAP."
The new Oakdale site joins the Mall of America and MSP Airport in the state's large-scale vaccine sites. The MSP Airport vaccine sites at Terminal 1 and 2 offer Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines for adults 18 and older. The Mall of America site offers the Pfizer vaccine for everyone 5 and older.
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Thursday, Jan. 6
11 a.m.
As concerns around the fast-spreading omicron variant grow, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) reported 62 new COVID deaths and 6,936 new cases in the state on Thursday.
That's an increase for both cases and deaths from the day before.
The new fatalities reported include one person in their 20s in Ramsey County and another person in their 20s in St. Louis County.
Minnesota's cumulative death total is at 10,733 since the pandemic began.
Health officials say 5,193 deaths have taken place in long-term care or assisted living facilities.
The cumulative total COVID cases in the state is now at 1,056,236 since the start of the pandemic.
According to MDH's latest data available, 1,469 people are being treated for COVID in hospitals around the state, with 1,197 in non-ICU beds and 272 in the ICU.
MDH reported 8,802,024 total doses of vaccine have been administered in the state, with 3,767,666 people age 5 and older having received at least one shot (72.3%). Of that number 3,533,681 people have completed their COVID series and are considered completely vaccinated (67.8%).
Among children 5-11 years old, the most recent age group to get the green light for COVID vaccines, 164,311 kids have at least one shot (32%) and 124,429 have completed their vaccine series (24%).
The state vaccine dashboard says of the total doses that have been administered in Minnesota, 59.6% are Pfizer, 36.7% are Moderna and 3.8% are Johnson & Johnson.