COVID-19 positivity rate, hospitalizations decline in Minnesota
The positivity rate of COVID-19 diagnostic testing dropped to 5.7%, its lowest level in Minnesota since late March, offering hope that vaccination progress is limiting the spread of the infectious disease.
The rate, a key measure of viral activity in Minnesota, had been as low as 3.5% on March 3 before rising in the latest pandemic wave to a peak of 7.5% on April 8. COVID-19 hospitalizations also declined to 423 on Sunday, down from a peak of 699 on April 14 and from 484 a week earlier.
State health officials have characterized the latest pandemic wave as a race between COVID-19 vaccinations and the spread of more infectious variants of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that causes the disease.
Vaccination numbers have slowed in Minnesota, but the state on Monday reported that more than 2.7 million people have received at least a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and that more than 2.3 million of them have completed the one- or two-dose series. Nearly 62% of Minnesotans 16 and older have received at least a first shot — with the Pfizer version of the vaccine being offered for the first time to people 12 to 15 as well.
The state on Monday reported no COVID-19 deaths and 589 more infections identified through testing. Minnesota's totals in the pandemic are 7,296 deaths and 595,016 known infections.
State health officials last week said they will be closely watching for the impact that any reduction in prevention strategies has on the variant vs. vaccine race.
Gov. Tim Walz ended the state's public indoor mask mandate late last week, though some municipalities and businesses still require that masks be worn to reduce risks of viral transmission. Target removed its mask requirement on Monday while signs at the Mall of America only strongly encourage that they be worn.
The state is scheduled to remove remaining indoor capacity caps and social distancing requirements on May 28 before the Memorial Day weekend. Mayo Clinic's pandemic modeling forecasts a nearly 40% drop in the rate of new COVID-19 cases in Minnesota in two weeks.
Jeremy Olson • 612-673-7744
