Photo of the United States Marine Corps by Lance Cpl. Scott Jenkins via Flickr
Seventy-five deaths have been added to the COVID-19 toll in Minnesota, as well as more than 1,500 new cases, according to Wednesday’s report from the state health service.
1,378 have now been seen in December, the highest number of months in Minnesota during the pandemic. In October, fewer than 500 were killed before the death toll skyrocketed to 1,136 in November. Since the first death was reported on March 21, Minnesota has reported a total of 4,971 fatalities.
Long-term care deaths account for 64.8% (3,220) of the total, including 45 of the 75 reported Tuesday.
Aside from the number of deaths, COVID-19 numbers are usually declining in Minnesota. For the perspective, consider that Minnesota reported more than 50,000 active cases in mid-November. According to the health department, there are now 23,007 active cases.
Hospital admissions
Through December 21, the number of people with COVID-19 hospitalized in Minnesota is 1,060. This is up from 1,040 on Monday and significantly lower than the high of 1,840 on November 30.
Of those hospitalized, 228 were in intensive care and 832 received non-ICU treatment. An update Wednesday has not yet been provided.
Test and positivity rates
The 1,513 positive results in Wednesday’s update were out of a total of 23,563 tests completed, creating a daily test positivity of 6.42%.
The World Health Organization recommended in May that a positive rate (total number of positives divided by total tests completed) of less than 5% for at least two weeks is needed to safely reopen the economy. That 5% threshold is based on the total number of positives divided by the total number of tests.
Coronavirus in Minnesota in numbers
- Total number of tests: 5,287,998 (compared to 5,264,561)
- People tested: 2,889,650 (from 2,881,770)
- Positive cases: 402,519 (from 401,011)
- Deaths: 4,971 – 137 of which “probably *” (from 4,896)
- Active cases: 23,007 (against 24,657)
- Patients who no longer require isolation: 379,512 (from 376,354)