More than 1,000 new coronavirus infections were reported on Monday in Minnesota, which also reported an uptick in COVID-19 outbreaks at festivals and concerts.
New COVID-19 cases in Minnesota top 1,000 for second straight reporting day
Outbreaks were identified at nine festivals and fairs and two concerts in July in Minnesota.
August 9, 2021 at 5:29PM
Seven more outbreaks involving fairs or festivals were identified in the last week by the Minnesota Department of Health, bringing the total of such outbreaks to nine in July and 13 since the start of the pandemic last year. The state also has identified two outbreaks linked to concerts in July and its first outbreak involving customers of a bar or restaurant since mid-June.
Gov. Tim Walz at a press event on Monday said he is "optimistic for Minnesota," but concerned that the state could see a COVID-19 spike in the fall, following pandemic surges this summer in several Southern states.
"We still rank as one of the best states but the delta variant is causing problems," Walz said. "Our case counts are up. Our hospitalizations are up."
The state on Monday reported 1,120 more coronavirus infections and four more COVID-19 deaths, raising Minnesotans totals in the pandemic to 618,906 infections and 7,698 deaths. Monday's report reflected infections identified through 4 a.m. last Friday and was the second straight report to show more than 1,000 new infections.
The positivity rate of diagnostic COVID-19 testing increased to 4.5%, nearing the state's caution threshold of 5% for uncontrolled viral spread, and the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in Minnesota reached 299, up from a low of 90 in mid-July. The hospitalizations include 87 people receiving intensive care due to breathing problems or other complications from their infections.
Vaccination activity has increased over the past three weeks in Minnesota. Walz reported that a $100 incentive program for new COVID-19 vaccine recipients exhausted $2.5 million in federal funding in three days. More than 26,000 new vaccine recipients signed up for the $100 incentive online registration, which opened last Wednesday. Nearly 3.2 million Minnesotans 12 and older have received at least a first dose of the one- or two-dose COVID-19 vaccines — amounting to 68% of the eligible population.
Breakthrough infections among vaccinated people remain rare. The state on Monday reported a total of 5,599 known breakthrough infections out of more than 2.9 million fully vaccinated Minnesotans — a rate of .19% that suggests to health officials that the vaccine is highly protective. The breakthrough infections include 56 COVID-19 deaths and 514 people who were hospitalized — though half were admitted for other reasons and only discovered their infections through routine testing.
Outbreaks at concerts or festivals are defined as three infections involving unrelated people who attended the same event. The seven newly reported outbreaks at concerts and festivals last month involved fewer than 70 people. In total, the 13 such outbreaks in the pandemic have involved 181 people.
The threshold for bar and restaurant outbreaks is higher — requiring infections among seven customers from different households who only visited one establishment in the prior month.
State health officials are eyeing such outbreaks ahead of the Minnesota State Fair, which routinely draws 2 million or more people over 12 days. The Fair hasn't announced any restrictions but has urged attendees to seek COVID-19 vaccine first. WeFest took place this weekend in Detroit Lakes without restrictions and the Sturgis Motor Cycle rally in South Dakota is ongoing this week.
Staff writer Hunter Woodall contributed to this report.
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They perform different functions and therfore need different exercise approaches.
