July 8 update on COVID-19 in MN: Death rate falls to early pandemic lows
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3 things to know
Death rate trending at lowest since early April 2020
67.3 percent of residents 16 and older have at least one vaccine shot; 64.2 percent are completely vaccinated
Active case counts under 1,000 for more than two weeks; hospitalizations stay below 100
Updated: 11:40 a.m.
Minnesota’s most recent COVID-19 data continues to show the pandemic is in check, although it still may have one or two moves left.
One great piece of news from Thursday’s Health Department numbers: Deaths are averaging fewer than four per day over the past reporting week — the lowest rate since April 8, 2020, back in the earliest weeks of the pandemic.
There were no new COVID-19 deaths reported from over the July 4 holiday weekend and only two posted on Thursday.
Metrics hover near pandemic lows
Known, active COVID-19 cases in Minnesota came in at 866 in Thursday’s report. The state’s seen cases stay below 1,000 for more than two weeks now, part of a dramatic drop since May 1, when Minnesota had more than 15,000 active cases.
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Receding caseloads mean fewer hospitalizations. The latest Health Department numbers show 93 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Minnesota — back down below 100 — with 23 needing intensive care.
Two newly reported deaths raised Minnesota’s pandemic toll to 7,617. Among those who have died, about 59 percent had been living in long-term care or assisted living facilities; most had underlying health problems.
The state has recorded 606,158 total confirmed or probable cases in the pandemic, including the 127 posted Thursday.
Roughly 99 percent of Minnesotans known to be infected with COVID-19 have recovered to the point where they no longer need to isolate.
Regionally, all parts of Minnesota are in good shape, near record lows.
People in their 20s still make up the age bracket with the state’s largest number of confirmed cases — more than 112,000 since the pandemic began.
Although young people are less likely to feel the worst effects of the disease and end up hospitalized, experts worry they can spread it unknowingly to older relatives and members of other vulnerable populations.
Vaccination pace crawls
Nearly 3 million residents 16 and older now have at least one vaccine dose.
More than 2.8 million are completely vaccinated. That’s about 64.2 percent of the state’s 16-and-older population completely vaccinated and 67.3 percent with at least one shot, including 91 percent of people 65 and older.
Add in more than 110,000 12-to-15-year-olds with at least one dose and Minnesota has topped 3 million residents with one or more shots. About 53 percent of the state’s total population is now completely vaccinated.
While Minnesota’s vaccination rate recently showed an uptick, the pace has fallen dramatically since peaking in April and continues to trudge along.
At the current pace, it appears it will be early September before Minnesota reaches the much-discussed milestone of having 70 percent of residents 16 and older with at least one vaccine dose.
Minnesota’s also seeing big regional gaps in vaccination rates, with most counties outside the Twin Cities region still below 70 percent of adults vaccinated. The latest numbers, though, show Wabasha and Fillmore counties in southern Minnesota have joined the 70-percent club.
Latest developments
Metro Transit to resume some express bus service
Metro Transit says it will be ramping up express bus service ahead of the Labor Day holiday, in anticipation of more people returning to commuting for work.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the transit agency suspended dozens of limited stop bus routes, originally established to bring workers in from park-and-ride lots and suburban destinations.
Fourteen routes, mainly park-and-ride service into downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul, will resume in August. Schedules will be posted July 23 for the lines coming back into service starting Aug. 21.
Demand may take a long time to return, said Adam Harrington, Metro Transit’s director of service development.
"Our ridership for the past 15 months has been at a system level down about 60 to 70 percent, particularly on locals, but it's been down 90 percent on commuter express,” he said. “We're hoping that we're able to bring service back to meet people where they're at and provide that connectivity into the downtowns."
Metro Transit is weighing what to do with dozens of other express service routes. Harrington said about 40 express routes are still on hold.
— Tim Nelson | MPR News
COVID-19 in Minnesota
Data in these graphs are based on the Minnesota Department of Health's cumulative totals released at 11 a.m. daily. You can find more detailed statistics on COVID-19 at the Health Department website.