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The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Wednesday’s COVID update includes 669 new cases and 24 new deaths.
The recently reported deaths bring the state total to 6,234 over the course of the pandemic. Of those deaths, 63.3% (3,946) were long-term care residents, including 14 of the 24 reported Wednesday.
As of Feb. 1, the state reported that 458,651 people have received at least one dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, while 122,597 people have completed the vaccine doses that are needed for the full effect of the vaccines. .
MDH has a public bulletin board to track the progress of vaccines in Minnesota and you can see it here.
Two new coronavirus variants have been confirmed in Minnesota, including what was the first known case of the Brazil P.1 variant in the United States. This case involves a Minnesota man who recently traveled to Brazil. There are 8 confirmed cases of variant B.1.1.7. The two new strains are believed to be more transmissible.
Hospitalizations
As of Feb. 2, the number of people with COVID-19 hospitalized in Minnesota was 379. Of those hospitalized, 77 were in intensive care and 302 were receiving treatment that did not belong to the ICU.
Across the state, there were 159 staffed ICU beds available. During the November hike, the state had less than 100 staff-intensive beds available. The number of beds available depends on the number of staff available, so totals are constantly changing.
Test rates and positivity
The 669 positive results of Wednesday’s update came from a total of 21,408 completed tests, which generated a daily positivity rate of 3.12%.
According to Johns Hopkins University, the Minnesota test positivity rate over the past seven days is 3.61%, making it one of the lowest rates in the country.
The World Health Organization recommends that to reopen the economy requires a percentage of positive percentages (total positives divided by the total number of tests completed) of less than 5% for at least two weeks.
Coronavirus in Minnesota by the numbers
- Total tests: 6,628,961 (up to 6,607,932)
- Tested people: 3,276,111 (compared to 3,271,158)
- People with at least 1 vaccine: 458,651 as of February 1 (up to 447,610)
- People with 2 vaccines: 122,597 as of February 1 (since 116,928)
- Positive cases: 463,766 (compared to 463,132)
- Deaths: 6,234 – 254 of which are “probable *” (up to 6,210)
- Patients who no longer need isolation: 449,707 (to 448,595)
* Probable deaths are patients who died after testing positive for the COVID-19 antigen test, which is thought to be less accurate than the more common PCR test.