Credit: CLINIC Hospital via Flickr
Minnesota has reported the second death of a child from COVID-19 state. An update from the health department on Wednesday reveals that a 5- to 9-year-old boy in Chippewa County died from coronavirus disease.
It is the second case of a child death of COVID-19. The first was reported by the health department in July. No children between the ages of 10 and 18 have died from the disease in Minnesota and only nine people between the ages of 20 and 29 have suffered from complications related to the disease, according to data from the health department.
The identity and city of origin of the child have not been disclosed, nor is it clear whether the child had any underlying illness.
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Wednesday’s COVID update includes 677 new cases and a total of 11 deaths.
The new reported deaths bring the state total to 6,319 over the pandemic. Of those deaths, 63 percent (3,983) were residents of long-term care, including seven of the eleven reported Wednesday.
As of Feb. 8, the state reported that 583,602 people have received at least 1 dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 168,495 people have completed the vaccine doses that are needed to get the maximum effect from 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. In this case it is a Minnesota who 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. 9, the number of people with COVID-19 hospitalized in Minnesota was 317. Of those hospitalized, 78 were in intensive care and 239 were receiving treatment that did not belong to the ICU.
Statewide, there were 164 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 677 positive results of Wednesday’s update came from a total of 20,217 completed tests, which created a daily positivity rate of 3.35%.
According to Johns Hopkins University, Minnesota’s test positivity rate over the past seven days is 3.45%, 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: 6,828,887 (up to 6,808,634)
- Tested people: 3,327,336 (up to 3,322,594)
- People with at least 1 vaccine: 583,602 (to 569,164)
- People with 2 vaccines: 168,495 (up to 162,132)
- Positive cases: 465,905 (up to 469,254)
- Deaths: 6,319 – 262 of which are “probable *” (up to 6,308)
- Patients who no longer need isolation: 456,244 (up to 455,280)
* 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.