Covid-19 : Another 32 COVID-19 deaths in Minnesota amid signs of progress

Most of the indicators used by the Minnesota Department of Health to track the virus statewide show the total number of cases and severity of cases continue to decline.

For the week, the virus claimed 168 lives. That’s well below the average of more than 400 deaths per week through much of December.

Of the deaths reported Sunday, 22 people were residents of long-term care or assisted-living facilities. People ranged in age from their 30s to 90s. Overall, 14 people were residents of the Twin Cities metro area.

Four people in Rice County died. St. Louis County reported three deaths. Two fatal cases were in Fillmore County. Goodhue, Isanti, Lyon, Murray, Otter Tail, Pine, Scott and Sherburne counties each reported one death. One death was not specified by county of residence.

The hospitalization rate continues to drop. As of Jan. 13, about 11.3 per 100,000 people were hospitalized for the virus. The rate peaked Nov. 19, with nearly 37 people per 100,000 hospitalized. MDH defines “high risk for public health” as 8 hospitalizations or more per 100,000 people.

Cases that aren’t linked to other known cases or outbreaks remain relatively high, with community spread listed as the source of about 34% of new cases as of Jan. 13. MDH considers community spread higher than 30% as high risk to public health.

Vaccination efforts continue, with 247,415 people in Minnesota having received at least one dose of the vaccine and 63,185 having completed their vaccination series.

Since March 2020, health officials report 454,989 total COVID-19 cases, with 23,884 people hospitalized and 6,095 deaths due to the illness.