After not reporting any coronavirus fatalities for a day, the state health department is now confirming 79 deaths from COVID-19, a jump of nine cases since Sunday. There are now 1,695 laboratory-confirmed cases of coronavirus in Minnesota with 909 recoveries.
The coronavirus has been found in 70 of Minnesota’s 87 counties, with no first cases reported in two days. Officials say they have completed 39,241 coronavirus tests, one-third in the Minnesota Health Department’s public health laboratory. Minnesota’s test-positive rate remains at less than 5%.
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At Hennepin County Medical Center, ICU beds are relatively full but the staff is not overwhelmed.
“Our census is ramping up, and we’re seeing a slight increase,” assistant chief of medicine Dr. David Hilden told Dave Lee on the WCCO Morning News.“It’s happening almost exactly as we hoped it would, in that it’s ramping up slowly,” he said.
Dr. Hilden said the staff at HCMC is fully equipped with protective equipment, with everyone wearing masks, plastic protective face shields, and hairnets. He also said antibody tests not under development by the University of Minnesota and the Mayo Clinic are performing well.
“They appear to be the real deal,” Hilden said.
