75 new COVID-19 cases locally; state case counts highest of the year

Apr. 10—The calendar says April, but Minnesota's COVID-19 data feels more like winter.

Active case counts haven't been this high since late December. Hospitalizations and intensive needs are climbing to where they were back in mid-January. Daily deaths are trending at February levels.

There's a crucial difference, though, between winter and today. Minnesota's vaccination pace is firmly on the upswing, with daily shots trending at an all-time high and the state seemingly on track to have 50 percent of adults vaccinated within two weeks.

State health officials on Saturday reported a record single-day total of 89,214 vaccine doses administered, pushing the number of Minnesota adults with at least one dose of a vaccine close to 2 million.

Saturday's Health Department data showed more than 1.3 million Minnesotans fully inoculated nearly 2 million — 1,994,347 — have received at least one dose, including about 84 percent of residents age 65 and older.

The agency reported nearly 90,000 more shots given. The seven-day trend is the highest since vaccinations began in late December.

COVID-19 cases fell to 75 in the nine-county area Saturday, down from 85 cases reported by the state on Friday.

Six of the nine counties had new case numbers that were in the single digits.

There were no additional deaths reported locally.

The Minnesota Department of Health reported 12 additional deaths Saturday, including someone age 30-34 in Stearns County.

There were 2,181 new cases statewide.

All nine area counties in the Mankato region had at least one new case. The full list of new cases by county includes:

—Blue Earth County — 20

—Nicollet County — 7

—Le Sueur County —6

—Sibley County — 12

—Martin County — 6

—Brown County — 11

—Faribault County —9

—Waseca County — 3

—Watonwan County —1