UPDATE: New COVID-19 cases dropped in region this week

Brian Arola, The Free Press, Mankato, Minn.
·4 min read

May 7—MANKATO — South-central Minnesota's nine counties combined for 375 new COVID-19 cases this week, down 21% from the prior week.

The 375 new cases between May 1-7 came after the counties had 476 between April 24-30, according to data from the Minnesota Department of Health. Weekly case totals have been alternating between rises and drops since mid-April.

The south-central region also had no new COVID-19 deaths Friday, after having one confirmed in Waseca County on Thursday.

Minnesota had 12 COVID-19 deaths statewide Friday, with the ages for the deceased ranging from 30-34 years old to 95-99 years old. The state's pandemic death toll rose to 7,216.

This week's drop in regionwide cases was fueled by seven of the nine counties having fewer new cases than the week before.

Martin County had the most pronounced drop from 73 to 32 new cases. That's a 56% decrease.

Blue Earth County's drop was more gradual from 178 to 152, or 14.6%. Nicollet County had a 33% decrease, going from 58 to 39.

The two counties with rises this week were Watonwan and Sibley. Sibley County's rise was fairly small from 16 to 21, or 31%, while Watonwan County had a bigger jump from 14 to 31, or 121%.

Another 49 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases Friday added to this week's total. Of the 49 new cases Friday, Blue Earth County had 16. Watonwan County had the next most with nine.

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

* Blue Earth County — 16

* Watonwan County — 9

* Le Sueur County — 6

* Sibley County — 6

* Brown County — 4

* Nicollet County — 3

* Martin County — 3

* Waseca County — 1

* Faribault County — 1

Statewide, Minnesota's COVID-19 numbers continue to offer optimism that the latest case wave has crested. At the same time, officials remain anxious about the new challenges of getting nearly 500,000 more Minnesotans vaccinated to finish the job.

The state's current COVID-19 restrictions began winding down starting at noon Friday, part of a series of changes that will end state government-ordered curbs before Memorial Day weekend.

As he ordered those changes Thursday, Gov. Tim Walz pretty much begged unvaccinated Minnesota adults to step up, even urging those who oppose him politically to get the shots so they could be healthy enough to vote against him next year.

He said Minnesota's masking mandate would end July 1 but sooner if 70% of Minnesotans 16 and older receive at least their first vaccine dose.

"It's your turn. If you're out there right now and you're 16 and above get your vaccine," Walz said in his remarks Thursday. "The whole process will take you five minutes. You'll be back doing whatever you need to do. You need to help Minnesota now. I'm asking you. Give us a hand to get this last little bit."

On Friday, Walz announced that eligible Minnesotans can now walk in for a COVID-19 vaccination without an appointment at the state's community vaccination program locations. Mankato's community vaccination site is at Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center downtown.

More than 2.6 million residents 16 and older now have at least one vaccine dose; more than 2 million have now completed their vaccinations as of Friday's update.

That works out to nearly 47% of the 16-and-older population completely vaccinated and nearly 60% with at least one shot, including 88% of those 65 and older.

In south-central Minnesota, about 45.3% of the 16-and-older population is completely vaccinated. About 53.8% have at least one shot.

Minnesota's vaccination pace, however, has been falling in recent weeks. The seven-day trend is down now to its lowest level in more than two months with indications of a significant drop in demand.

As for cases, the count of known, active ones statewide came in at 14,135 in the latest data — down from the most recent high of about 20,000 in mid-April.

Friday's report showed 560 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Minnesota; 144 needed intensive care. Both figures continue to trend down from their recent peaks.

Follow Brian Arola @BrianArola