Minnesota is reporting 1,449 new coronavirus cases and nine more deaths linked to COVID-19, the state Health Department announced Friday.
The latest numbers mean the seven-day rolling average for net case increases is now about 1,098 per day, according to the Star Tribune's coronavirus tracker, continuing a recent trend of case increases.
From late January through early March, seven-day averages generally ranged from 750 to 1,000 cases per day.
The statewide tally for people who have received at least one vaccine dose increased by 34,682 in the latest data release, for a total of 1,337,982 people so far. That's about 24% of the state's population, according to Star Tribune estimates.
The Health Department says 788,495 people have now completed the two-dose vaccine series. Vaccination figures could understate the total for doses administered due to reporting delays; numbers reported Friday were current two days ago, according to officials.
Residents of long-term care and assisted-living facilities accounted for three of the nine newly-announced deaths.
Since Minnesota started detecting virus infections in March 2020, the state has reported 502,893 positive cases, 26,578 hospitalizations and 6,771 deaths.
The state's one-day count of 1,449 new cases came on a volume of 40,005 newly completed tests — meaning the share of tests coming back positive was again below the state's "caution" level of 5%. The positivity rate, however, has been increasing over the last week or so.
