Ivan Radic, Flickr
Just over three weeks ago, when federal health officials recommended that everyone at COVID hot spots wear a mask while in public indoor spaces, only 14 Minnesota counties reached that face coverage threshold.
That number is now up to 83.
According to data from Friday morning, all but one of the state’s 87 counties have what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) considers a “substantial” or “high” transmission. Under CDC guidelines, all people, vaccinated or not, should wear a face that is covered while they are in public indoor spaces in these areas.
Related: MN companies, organizations, and events that now require or recommend a face mask
In addition, the vast majority of these counties have the most severe “high” transmission level. (This is the red on the map on the right.)
CDC
Continued increases in COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations, and the positivity rate have caused many government units, businesses, schools, and venues to reimplement mask mandates or add new vaccination requirements. On Friday, the state said it had recorded 1,708 new cases and 10 deaths reported recently, with a positivity rate of 5.57%.
The four counties in Minnesota with only “moderate” transmission are: Big Stone, Kittson, Koochiching and Red Lake. Below are lists of counties with high and substantial transmission, arranged alphabetically.
High transmission (65 counties)
- Aitkin County
- Anoka County
- Beltrami County
- Benton County
- Blue Earth County
- Brown County
- Carlton County
- Carver County
- Cass County
- Chippewa County
- Chisago County
- Clearwater County
- Crow Wing County
- Dakota County
- Dodge County
- Douglas County
- Faribault County
- Fillmore County
- Freeborn County
- Goodhue County
- Grant County
- Hennepin County
- Houston County
- Hubbard County
- Isanti County
- Itasca County
- Jackson County
- Kandiyohi County
- Talking Lake County
- Le Sueur County
- County of Lyon
- Marshall County
- Martin County
- McLeod County
- Meeker County
- County of a Thousand Lakes
- Morrison County
- Mower County
- Murray County
- Nicollet County
- County of Nobles
- Olmsted County
- Otter Tail County
- Pennington County
- Pine County
- Pope County
- Ramsey County
- Rice County
- Rock County
- Scott County
- Sherburne County
- Sibley County
- Stearns County
- Steele County
- Stevens County
- Swift County
- Todd County
- Wabasha County
- Wadena County
- Waseca County
- Washington County
- Watonwan County
- Winona County
- Wright County
- Yellow Medicine County
Substantial transmission (18 counties)
- Becker County
- Clay County
- Cook County
- Cottonwood County
- Kanabec County
- Lake County
- Lake of Woods County
- Lincoln County
- Mahnomen County
- Norman County
- Pipestone County
- Polk County
- Redwood County
- Renville County
- Roseau County
- St. Louis County Louis
- Traverse County
- Wilkin County