Minnesota on Monday reported only one COVID-19 death in an elderly person from Waseca County — the lowest one-day total since April 13.
Single COVID-19 death lowest Minnesota daily total since April
Hospitalizations for COVID-19 have remained just above 300 per day throughout August in Minnesota.
August 31, 2020 at 11:50PM
The Minnesota Department of Health on Monday also reported 679 infections with the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 and an estimated 306 hospitalizations of people with the infectious disease. That included 131 people requiring intensive care due to breathing problems or other complications from their infections.
The death reported on Monday involved a person from Waseca County in the 70 to 74 year age range and brought the state's total in the pandemic to 1,817 COVID-19 fatalities. The state also has recorded 75,864 lab-confirmed infections since the start of the pandemic — with 67,656 involving people who recovered to the point that they are no longer considered infection risks or required to isolate themselves.
Hospitalization and death numbers have leveled off somewhat in August — though the state reported daily double-digit COVID-19 death totals twice last week.
Rising daily case growth in recent days has drawn concern from state health officials, who fear that outbreaks even among healthier teenagers and young adults could eventually spread the virus again to people at greater risk of severe COVID-19 cases. More than nine in 10 COVID-19 deaths in Minnesota have involved people 70 or older, or who have underlying health conditions such as diabetes or heart disease.
That concern was underscored on Sunday by Dr. Deborah Birx, the leader of the White House COVID-19 task force, after she visited in St. Paul with Gov. Tim Walz and other state health and policy officials. Birx urged Minnesotans to follow guidance around social distancing and mask-wearing, not just in public places such as bars and restaurants but also in gatherings with friends and relatives.
Teens aren't without risks if they get infected, she added, but they can certainly contract the virus and spread it to others.
"There are a lot of young people that get it that don't know they're infected and they take that virus home to their vulnerable mothers or father or grandparents," she said, "and that is what started the hospitalizations and certainly the mortality that we see."
Jeremy Olson • 612-673-7744
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