ST PAUL, Minn. — Tuesday, May 19
- MDH reports single-day high in hospitalizations
- DVS opens drivers exam stations to long lines, health checks
- AG Keith Ellison sues tavern owner over plans to reopen against state guidelines
- MDH Commissioner Jan Malcolm urges Minnesotans to continue social distancing in a "new normal"
2 p.m.
Five hundred forty-five Minnesotans are currently in the hospital with COVID-19, after the highest one-day jump in hospitalizations since the pandemic began.
Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Commissioner Jan Malcolm said on the department's daily update call that while they reported an increase of 57 additional hospitalizations Tuesday, the number of people in the ICU remained steady at 229.
"It's certainly notable," Malcolm said of the increase in hospitalized patients. "It is a big jump."
MDH Infectious Disease Director Kris Ehresmann said with COVID-19 patients, there may be mild symptoms at first and then severe symptoms days later. She said the increase this week, therefore, could actually be linked to a higher number of new cases identified last week.
Tuesday, May 19 is the first day that Gov. Tim Walz ordered flags at state and federal buildings to be flown at half-staff to honor the victims of the virus. That will continue on the 19th day of every month through 2020.
Ehresmann urged parents to continue taking their children in for their well-child check-ups.
Malcolm said that anyone who is symptomatic should be able to get a diagnostic test for COVID-19 at this point. Antibody tests, while useful for showing society-level trends, are not necessarily helpful at the individual level at this time, according to Malcolm.
Those antibody tests, also called serology tests, show whether someone has COVID-19 antibodies and may have already been exposed to the virus. There is hope that these tests will help to show some kind of immunity against coronavirus, but MDH warned that it is not "actively promoting" antibody tests at this time.
"We don't know what it means in terms of the duration of protection and how much antibody is necessary, what type of a result is sufficient to say you really have some level of protection," Ehresmann said. "There are many, many tests out there that are not FDA approved."
"It's not that there isn't a place for antibody testing and it won't have an important role," Ehresmann said, but right now MDH is focusing on diagnostic testing.
11 a.m.
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) is reporting the highest single-day number of hospitalizations in the state related to COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic.
During the past 24-hour reporting period, Minnesota hospitals reported 545 patients being treated for symptoms of the coronavirus, with 229 of them in serious enough condition to require care in the ICU.
Testing revealed an additional 665 confirmed cases of the virus, pushing the total number of positive tests to 17,029. In the last day private and state labs processed 5,229 tests, bringing the number of Minnesotans tested to 161,835 since MDH started compiling COVID-19 statistics.
People between the ages of 30 and 39 make up the largest segment of confirmed cases, with 3,402 testing positive. Those 20 to 29 are the next largest group with 3,010 testing positive for the virus.
An additional 17 people have died from complications of the coronavirus, raising the number of fatalities to 748. Of those deaths, 608, or 81%, were residents of long-term care or assisted living facilities. Those age 70 and older account for 618 of the fatalities.
MDH says 11,540 people who once tested positive for COVID-19 have recovered to the point they no longer require isolation.
Monday, May 18
2 p.m.
As restrictions begin to lift in Minnesota, state health officials are urging the public to keep practicing social distance and come to terms with a "new normal" as the virus continues to circulate.
Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Commissioner Jan Malcolm said Monday that cases are now doubling every 12 days. That rate is slower than it has been for the last couple of weeks, Malcolm said.
"The doubling time lengthening is something that we consider to be not definitive, but a positive sign," Malcolm said. "We are always quick to say that can change very quickly with very little notice."
MDH identified just over 700 new COVID-19 cases out of a volume of 6,001 tests over the last 24-hour period. Malcolm reminded Minnesotans Monday that test results can still take several days, and that those results will come from the clinic that administered your test. MDH is also urging people to stay home and self-isolate while they wait for their results.
Gov. Tim Walz announced last week that he would allow the Stay at Home order to expire as planned at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, making way for the new Stay Safe MN order to begin Monday. Restrictions on retail have eased, and gatherings of under 10 people are now allowed, with proper social distancing in place.
Malcolm said even with restrictions beginning to lift in Minnesota, it's "very critical" that people stay home and isolate when sick.
"Just because more businesses are open, just because we are emphasizing the importance of social distancing when we're out, wearing masks, none of that means it's OK to go out into the community when you're sick," she said.
MDH Infectious Disease Director Kris Ehresmann said a large portion of the population falls into the high-risk category, beyond just people of an older age.
"There are many of us within the population who may look completely healthy but have underlying conditions. It may be diabetes, it may be heart disease," she said. Obesity, too, can be a risk factor.
11 a.m.
New numbers released by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) show a small but steady uptick in both diagnosed cases of COVID-19 and the number of patients requiring treatment in ICU for serious symptoms of the virus.
MDH says 705 people tested positive for the coronavirus in the past 24-hour reporting period, bringing the total of cases diagnosed in the state to 16,372. Hennepin County had the most new cases with 251, followed by Ramsey and Dakota Counties with 97 and 57 cases respectively.
More than 6,001 tests were processed in the past day, bringing the total to 156,606 since the pandemic began.
Health officials report nine additional deaths to COVID-19, bringing Minnesota fatalities to 731. Of those, 595 took place in long-term care or assisted living facilities.
Minnesota hospitals are currently caring for 488 patients, 229 who have symptoms serious enough to require treatment in the ICU. Since MDH began keeping statistics on the pandemic, 2,128 people have been hospitalized to be treated for the virus.
The collective recovery of patients from COVID-19 continues as well. At this point 10,764 people diagnosed as positive have recovered enough to no longer require isolation.
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 companies in Minnesota are hiring. 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 hotline for general questions about coronavirus at 651-201-3920 or 1-800-657-3903, available 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.