The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Minnesota has surpassed the rise of the spring of 2021.
The state said Tuesday that 748 people are in the hospital due to COVID-19 – 208 of them in intensive care and the remaining 540 in general care. These figures are the highest they have been in months, eclipsing the peak reached in late April.
That spring wave, at its highest point, saw 202 patients with COVID in intensive care and 517 patients with COVID in general hospital care, according to capacity figures.
Related: Minnesota COVID-19 update for Tuesday, September 14th
The increase in COVID cases pushes hospital systems toward their capacity limit.
There are 79 adult ICU beds open statewide, with 42 hospitals reporting that they have a ICU capacity of over 95% (for all patients, not just those with COVID). In the twin cities, only 3.7% of all adult ICU beds (25 in total) are currently open. In the north-eastern, central and south-eastern regions, the availability of beds in the ICU is less than 10%
State of Minnesota
The figures are similar for non-ICU hospital beds, where only 1.7% of non-ICU hospital beds in twin cities are currently open. Rates are slightly better in other regions of the state.
Although hospitalization figures are at their highest points in months, the situation remains less severe than during the winter peak. Cases of COVID that needed a bed for an ICU rose to shy 400 in early December, while cases that did not belong to the ICU hovered around 1,400 during that time.
The Minnesota Department of Health on Tuesday noted 4,603 new cases of COVID and 12 recently reported deaths, 11 of which occurred this month.