Several entities partnered with the Minneapolis Health Department to host a free walk-up/drive through COVID-19 testing event at the Abubakar As-Saddique Islamic Center. Testing will be available at the same location next Saturday, Sept. 26, from noon until 5:00pm. Lynn Eidahl (center) with Hennepin Health administered tests at the event. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Minnesota saw a net increase of 1,318 new confirmed coronavirus infections, a new single-day high, health officials reported Sunday.

Two more people have died of COVID-19 in Minnesota, according to a data release from the Minnesota Department of Health on Sunday morning.

That brings the total number of cases confirmed in Minnesota to 90,017. Statewide, the pandemic's toll reached 1,965 deaths.

Residents of long-term care and assisted-living facilities accounted for one of the newly announced deaths, which came on a volume of about 22,553 completed tests.

The latest numbers show 248 patients were hospitalized, compared with 241 on Saturday; 123 patients required intensive care, compared with 134 on Saturday. Daily tallies for hospitalized patients in Minnesota have been trending down or holding steady in recent weeks.

COVID-19 is a viral respiratory illness caused by a new coronavirus that surfaced late last year. Since the first case was reported in Minnesota in early March, 7,163 people have been hospitalized.

People at greatest risk from COVID-19 include those 65 and older, residents of long-term care facilities and those with underlying medical conditions.

Those health problems range from lung disease and serious heart conditions to severe obesity and diabetes. People undergoing treatment for failing kidneys also run a greater risk, as do those with cancer and other conditions where treatments suppress immune systems.

Most patients with COVID-19 don't need to be hospitalized. The illness usually causes mild or moderate sickness and many cases lack symptoms.

Numbers released Sunday show health care workers have accounted for 9,610 cases statewide. A total of 81,336 Minnesotans who were infected with the novel coronavirus no longer need to be in isolation, an increase of nearly 930 people at Sunday's data release.

Confirmed cases have been reported in all of the state's 87 counties.

Kim Hyatt • 612-673-4751

about the writer

Kim Hyatt

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Kim Hyatt reports on North Central Minnesota. She previously covered Hennepin County courts.