West central Minnesota continues downward trend in COVID-19 cases and deaths

Carolyn Lange, West Central Tribune, Willmar, Minn.
·2 min read

May 17—WILLMAR — A low number of new COVID-19 cases and deaths was reported Monday all across the state, including west central Minnesota.

Statewide there were no deaths reported and 589 new cases.

In the 11-county area tracked by the West Central Tribune, there were a total of 40 new cases.

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Stearns County reported 18 new cases; Meeker County had nine new cases; Kandiyohi County had four new cases; Redwood County had three; and Chippewa, Lac qui Parle, Pope, Renville, Swift and Yellow Medicine counties each reported one new case

There were no new cases reported in Big Stone County.

The state's cumulative cases now number 595,016. Of the cumulative number of cases, 42,249, of them have been among health care workers.

The state's current total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 is now at 7,296. Most of the deaths, 4,390, have occurred in long-term care or assisted living facilities, and 5,959 of the people who died were 70 or older.

The information was included in the latest daily situation update from the Minnesota Department of Health, released at 11 a.m. daily. The data released are current as of 4 p.m. the day before.

Since the start of the pandemic, the number of COVID-19 cases among residents confirmed to reside in area counties and the number of deaths includes:

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Big Stone County: 600 cases; 4 deaths

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Chippewa County: 1,525 cases; 38 deaths

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Kandiyohi County: 6,577 cases; 83 deaths

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Lac qui Parle County: 754 cases; 22 deaths

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Meeker County: 2,582 cases; 40 deaths

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Pope County: 1,110 cases; 6 deaths

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Redwood County: 1,748 cases; 37 deaths

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Renville County: 1,806 cases; 43 deaths

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Stearns County: 22,311 cases; 222 deaths

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Swift County: 1,059 cases; 18 deaths

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Yellow Medicine County: 1,143 cases; 20 deaths

The state is now also reporting daily vaccine administration numbers. As of the latest report issued on Monday, 2,732,819 people have received at least one dose and 2,340,582 have completed the vaccine series statewide.

According to the report, 62% of the state's population over the age of 16 have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The percentage in area counties includes:

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Big Stone: 66%

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Chippewa: 53%

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Kandiyohi: 50%

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Lac qui Parle: 56%

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Meeker: 46%

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Pope: 55%

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Redwood: 50%

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Renville: 53%

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Stearns: 54%

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Swift: 57%

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Yellow Medicine: 57%

The vaccine data web page is updated at 11 a.m. daily, but it can take up to 48 hours for data to be reported to the state and processed.

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