COVID-19 and flu seasons show signs of settling

Brian Arola, The Free Press, Mankato, Minn.
·2 min read
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Dec. 23—MANKATO — South-central Minnesota's COVID-19 and influenza seasons appear to be settling in rather than spiking as the new year approaches.

Nine area counties combined for 178 new COVID-19 cases between Dec. 11-17, according to Minnesota Department of Health data. The total was a 5.8% decline from the previous week.

The counties combined for 855 new cases during the same date range in 2021.

Despite case and hospitalization levels not being as bad now as they were a year ago, COVID-19 continues to be deadlier than the flu by degrees, especially for older populations. The south-central region had four newly confirmed fatalities from the illness between Dec. 11-17.

Two of the deaths occurred in Martin County residents, while one each occurred in Brown and Le Sueur counties. Statewide data showed Minnesotans age 65 or older remain most at risk for COVID-19 complications. Younger age groups also can experience severe cases, although their risk levels are lower now than they were earlier in the pandemic.

Unlike previous weeks when cases leveled out or declined, this week has the added benefit of underlying wastewater data also showing declines. It was an encouraging sign to see, said Derek J. Wingert, a local COVID-19 data analyst.

"This week it's looking more like are we starting to see a plateau or rounding the bend here," he said. "Overall this is definitely very nice to see as compared to prior weeks."

Transmission levels do remain high by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention standards. The situation doesn't appear to be worsening, though, like it was doing this time last year.

The region had one standout data point this week, with Waseca County having the fourth-fewest new cases per 10,000 residents out of all counties in the state.

Influenza season, meanwhile, looks to be slowing statewide after an early spike in hospitalizations. Minnesota went from 400 to 264 new weekly hospitalizations in the state's latest flu update.

This season remains the worst since at least 2019-2020. The state has had 2,601 flu hospitalizations since the season began in October — 84 of them in the south-central region — compared to 901 during the entire 2021-2022 season spanning about six-months.

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