The Minnesota Department of Health reports 128 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 Wednesday, with a case positivity rate of 3.4% and fewer than 10 cases per 100,000 residents statewide: both coming in below cautionary benchmarks used by experts. Zero deaths were reported Tuesday and hospitalizations are decreasing to levels not seen since last summer.
With outdoor events and the Twin Cities metro reaching 70% of residents with at least one dose, does this mark the official turning of a corner?
Health experts say there’s a lot of data to be optimistic about; but testing has decreased overall as some regions of the state lag with vaccinations. There’s also the concern about variants which are estimated to make up 85 percent of Minnesota cases.
“Variants do remain an ongoing threat because they do have the ability to change and they do have the ability to adapt in a way that may not be covered by vaccines,” State Infectious Disease Director Kris Ehresmann said.
There are no conversations about any dialing back, but health officials will be watching over the next four weeks to see what the data shows after the mask mandate ended and the holiday weekend. Even with those concerns -- new, unknown stage of the pandemic and the threat of variants, full-vaccinated Minnesotans can trust the science and feel “reassured” by the vaccine’s effectiveness.
“We’ve certainly seen it here in Minnesota in the dramatic decline in cases and hospitalizations and deaths, especially among the populations that have the highest rate of vaccinations in the 65-plus population for example,” Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said.
Minnesotans 65 and older with at least one dose of the vaccine is nearly 90%.
