Health Department: 638 new cases, 3 deaths from COVID-19 in Minnesota

Another 638 COVID-19 cases and three more deaths were reported Monday by the Minnesota Department of Health.

That brings the total number of confirmed cases in the state to 81,225 — including 1,860 deaths — since the pandemic was first detected in Minnesota in mid-March.

Since mid-August, the number of daily new cases has been inching upward from about 600 to nearly 800, based on average case counts over the previous seven days.

"We plateaued at a high level and now we are beginning to inch up again," Minnesota Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said last week.

While the number of confirmed cases has been rising, hospitalizations have been relatively stable.

There was a net decrease of nine people in the state's hospitals for a total of 275 COVID-19 patients; of those, 136 required intensive care, a net decrease of seven.

State health officials last week said they were concerned that social gatherings over the Labor Day weekend could spread more COVID-19 infections if people were not wearing masks and practicing social distancing.

Nearly 10% of the state's cases are linked to outbreaks in workplaces, bars and restaurants or social events such as weddings, funerals and other gatherings.

Minnesota residents in their 20s make up the largest group of those sickened by the coronavirus, accounting for 24% of all positive cases.

While most in that age group don't required hospital-level care, health officials are concerned they could spread the virus to those more vulnerable. People with underlying health conditions, such as heart, lung and kidney disease, are more susceptible to COVID-19 complications.

Residents of nursing homes and assisted-living facilities accounted for two of the newly announced deaths, which came on a volume of about 15,147 completed tests. Long-term care residents account for 73% of all COVID-19 deaths in the state, down from about 82% in the early weeks.

A total of 73,403 Minnesotans who were infected no longer need to be in isolation.