Daily COVID-19 update: New confirmed cases decrease statewide; hospitalizations increase

Published 1:28 pm Saturday, July 18, 2020

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The number of newly confirmed COVID-19 cases in Minnesota dropped on Saturday even as the number of completed tests increased to one of the highest daily totals so far.

Five new COVID-19 deaths were reported across the state on Saturday. Provided

But the number of Minnesotans with COVID-19 being treated in hospitals increased again in the Minnesota Department of Health’s daily report, as did the number of those patients being treated in ICUs.

Five more Minnesotans died from COVID-19, bringing the total death toll to 1,538.

State health officials reported 464 new confirmed cases on Saturday, down from more 669 in Friday’s report. That’s as testing increased to 16,451 reported results, up from 14,299 on Friday and among the highest single-day totals reported in Minnesota to date. The percentage of positive tests dipped from 4.7 percent on Friday to 2.8 percent in Saturday’s report.

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The number of COVID-19 patients being treated in Minnesota hospitals increased to 265 in Saturday’s report, up from 252 on Friday and 249 on Thursday. The number of those patients being treated in ICUs was 117 on Saturday, up from 110 on Friday and 103 on Thursday.

While those numbers are increasing, they’re still far below the peaks seen in May, when more than 600 people were hospitalized.

Saturday’s updated numbers come as community spread of the coronavirus has increased across the Minnesota, and state leaders have made clear that reopening may need to be dialed back if case counts continue rising.

The state has been backsliding in its fight against the disease’s spread, and “it’s extremely likely” that Minnesota will see hospitalizations and intensive care cases on the upswing, possibly as soon as next week, Kris Ehresmann, the state’s infectious disease director, said Friday.

Investigators, she said, anticipated a pattern of Minnesota outbreaks clustered around bars as they began to reopen to indoor service over the past few weeks. It happened as expected, surfacing in Mankato, Minneapolis, St. Cloud, Duluth and Bemidji.

She and others have warned for weeks that while the young adults who’ve been driving the recent case increases may not suffer the worst effects of the disease, they may inadvertently spread it to grandparents and other potentially more vulnerable people.

Community spread — where officials can’t trace the precise path of an infection — is a growing concern.

Here are the latest coronavirus statistics

  • 45,470 cases confirmed (464 new) via 835,962 tests
  • 1,538 deaths (5 new)
  • 4,602 cases requiring hospitalization
  • 265 people remain hospitalized; 117 in intensive care
  • 39,310 patients no longer requiring isolation

State investigators since Monday have received some 120 complaints from concerned residents reporting violations of the current orders around gathering in indoor social spaces, particularly bars and restaurants, Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm told reporters Friday.

The complaints include staff not wearing masks, not enough social distancing and too many people at a site.

Because of that, the state is “stepping up enforcement,” she said, “not to play gotcha with restaurants and bars but because we feel it’s so essential” to protect Minnesotans.

Malcolm said most bar and restaurant owners who’ve been flagged have responded positively but also noted that establishments that don’t comply are subject to cease and desist orders.

Malcolm said health officials continue to hope that bars, restaurants and other indoor social spaces get the message. The state, she said, is working to avoid “wholesale closure” of these places but that the rise in community spread must be checked.

“But in all candor, I don’t think anything can be considered completely off the table with what we’re seeing around the country and in our own numbers in Minnesota,” she added. “But we clearly would like to explore intermediate measures before that.”

Local cases

Freeborn County had one new case reported Saturday, increasing its cumulative cases to 323, according to the Freeborn County Public Health Department. There are six more people out of isolation, bringing the county’s total to 308 people out of isolation. Fifteen are active cases in the county, and one person remains hospitalized.

The following are the increases and total cases in other area counties:

• Faribault County: one new case, 70 total cases

• Mower County: three new cases, 1,002 total cases

• Steele County: three new cases, 276 total cases

• Waseca County: two new cases, 87 total cases