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Minnesota health officials on Wednesday reported a a single-day record of 56 COVID-19 deaths.

The deaths came from 27 counties across the state, including one person in Steele County who was between 85 and 89 years old. The people who died statewide ranged in age from early 50s to late 90s, and 38 resided in long-term care or assisted living facilities.

The state has now had 2,754 COVID-19 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, of which 1,898 resided in long-term care or assisted living facilities. The prior record for deaths in a single day was 36 on Friday.

The state also reported 4,900 new cases, increasing the cumulative cases to 194,570. Of the total cases, more than 37,000 are considered active cases, and 1,299 people are hospitalized, including 282 in intensive care.

The 7-day rolling average of the positivity rate in Minnesota has nearly doubled over the past two weeks from just under 7% on Oct. 27 to nearly 13% on Tuesday, according to data from The COVID Tracking Project.

The numbers came a day after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz warned residents that the state is approaching the worst phase of the pandemic and that conditions will get dramatically worse unless people start changing their behavior. He said it won’t be unusual for people to open their newspapers and see 50 to 60 new deaths.

“This is just inevitable if we do not change our behaviors and take some mitigation efforts, this will continue to spike.” Walz said.

Freeborn County on Wednesday reported 23 new lab-confirmed cases, and one person was added from another county, increasing the county’s total count to 925, according to the Freeborn County PublIc Health Department.

The following is information about the 23 new cases:

• Two under 10

• Five between 10 and 20

• Two in their 20s

• Three in their 30s

• Two in their 40s

• Three in their 50s

• Six in their 60s

The county health department stated there are now 141 active cases in the county, and six people are currently hospitalized. Fifty-five people have been hospitalized at some point during their illness.

As of Nov. 5, the county’s positivity rate was 4.6%.

The following are updates on other area counties:

• Faribault County: 10 new cases, 329 total cases

• Mower County: one new case, 1,704 total cases

• Steele County: six new cases, 1,031 total cases

• Waseca County: one new case, 1,017 total cases

The Minnesota Department of Health reported 34,044 new tests were completed, including 33,981 PCR tests and 64 antigen tests.

— The Associated Press contributed to this report.

 

Minnesota COVID-19 cases, deaths

County	Total confirmed cases	Total probable cases	Total cases	Total deaths
Aitkin	383	2	385	8
Anoka	13,453	236	13,689	183
Becker	1,061	3	1,064	4
Beltrami	1,330	1	1,331	13
Benton	1,661	35	1,696	23
Big Stone	216	1	217	1
Blue Earth	2,677	1	2,678	8
Brown	624	1	625	5
Carlton	857	80	937	7
Carver	2,517	21	2,538	9
Cass	752	2	754	7
Chippewa	598	2	600	6
Chisago	1,876	23	1,899	2
Clay	3,350	6	3,356	48
Clearwater	228	0	228	2
Cook	36	0	36	0
Cottonwood	406	0	406	0
Crow Wing	2,008	2	2,010	23
Dakota	13,522	112	13,634	152
Dodge	510	0	510	0
Douglas	1,327	7	1,334	13
Faribault	329	0	329	0
Fillmore	378	1	379	0
Freeborn	925	0	925	5
Goodhue	1,017	1	1,018	17
Grant	147	0	147	5
Hennepin	45,125	247	45,372	1,030
Houston	394	0	394	2
Hubbard	676	1	677	11
Isanti	987	11	998	10
Itasca	1,164	0	1,164	18
Jackson	282	1	283	1
Kanabec	353	1	354	11
Kandiyohi	2,347	4	2,351	8
Kittson	114	2	116	1
Koochiching	228	1	229	5
Lac qui Parle	196	0	196	3
Lake	185	7	192	0
Lake of the Woods	60	4	64	1
Le Sueur	879	1	880	6
Lincoln	239	1	240	1
Lyon	1,348	2	1,350	6
Mahnomen	161	0	161	3
Marshall	276	2	278	5
Martin	735	0	735	19
McLeod	993	2	995	5
Meeker	576	0	576	4
Mille Lacs	872	6	878	21
Morrison	1,196	11	1,207	13
Mower	1,687	17	1,704	21
Murray	375	0	375	3
Nicollet	1,011	0	1,011	20
Nobles	2,659	2	2,661	24
Norman	217	0	217	5
Olmsted	4,332	1	4,333	30
Otter Tail	1,544	3	1,547	9
Pennington	310	2	312	2
Pine	797	14	811	3
Pipestone	476	0	476	17
Polk	1,438	43	1,481	14
Pope	274	0	274	1
Ramsey	18,720	249	18,969	419
Red Lake	121	2	123	3
Redwood	430	2	432	13
Renville	396	7	403	14
Rice	2,315	13	2,328	20
Rock	452	3	455	9
Roseau	520	85	605	1
Scott	5,003	22	5,025	46
Sherburne	3,143	30	3,173	30
Sibley	379	0	379	3
St. Louis	4,682	35	4,717	77
Stearns	8,514	147	8,661	66
Steele	1,030	1	1,031	5
Stevens	267	2	269	1
Swift	328	0	328	3
Todd	1,272	1	1,273	10
Traverse	84	0	84	0
Wabasha	562	2	564	1
Wadena	450	7	457	5
Waseca	1,017	0	1,017	10
Washington	9,001	89	9,090	83
Watonwan	633	0	633	4
Wilkin	221	0	221	4
Winona	1,808	1	1,809	21
Wright	4,190	27	4,217	24
Yellow Medicine	408	4	412	8
Unknown/missing	270	8	278	0