2-16 COVID-19 Update: Minnesota Nears Milestone of One Million Vaccine Doses Administered
2-16 COVID-19 Update from Minnesota Department of Health
The Minnesota Department of Health will held a conference call Tuesday to brief members of the media on the latest public health information regarding COVID-19.
You can watch the full briefing here.
MDH Commissioner Jan Malcolm:
- In Minnesota, 474,621 total cases since start of pandemic (up 456 on testing volume of 9,333 — one of the lowest testing volumes in “quite a while,” said Malcolm.)
- Lowest number of new cases since Sept. 15
- 961 cases reported Saturday, 770 cases on Sunday and 607 on Monday
- In Minnesota, 6,380 total deaths (up 2)
- 7 deaths reported Saturday, 7 on Sunday and 2 on Monday
- 7-day case positivity rate has fallen to 3.8% (MDH’s “caution threshold” is 5%)
- Number of Minnesotans currently hospitalized with COVID-19 is 315 . Of those, 57 in intensive care — that’s well below the peak of 399 on Dec. 1.
- Just 15 cases reported in nursing homes, lowest total in Minnesota since beginning of pandemic last March, said Malcolm.
- Globally, 109 million cases; 2.4 million deaths
- In U.S., 27.7 million cases (slight improvement in recent days); 486,000 deaths
Latest Vaccine Information:
- 927,384 vaccine doses administered
- Of those, 686,210 people have received at least one dose (12% of state’s population)
- 307,432 people age 65+ have received at least one dose of vaccine
MDH Director of Infectious Disease Kris Ehresmann:
- Concern remains about variants
- U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists 18 COVID-19 infections in Minnesota involving the B.1.1.7 variant first discovered in the United Kingdom. That has increased to 40, says Ehresmann
- Minnesota also has identified 2 cases of the P. 1 variant first identified in Brazil
- MDH public health lab continues to analyze random samples and is seeing uptick in variants
- Variants have shown to spread more easily and cause more serious illness
Don’t Need to Quarantine If Exposed to Virus AND All of the Following Are True:
- You’ve had both doses of vaccine
- It’s been 14 days since second dose of vaccine
- Exposure needs to be within 90 days of your last vaccination.
- Should not have ANY symptoms of COVID-19
NOTE: Recommendations for health care workers are different than for general public
Q&A Session and Notes on COVID-19:
- CDC provided new guidance for school reopenings
- Report shows schools aren’t major source for teacher outbreaks
- Malcolm couldn’t provided update on Minnesota schools, but update possible Wednesday
- Ehresmann says MDH is focusing more on respiratory droplet spread than through aerosol transmission
- Malcolm uncertain on next week’s doses to Minnesota, but a slightly higher percentage expected
- CDC very strongly says states need to prioritize in-person learning above extracurricular activities, said Malcolm. Don’t expect major changes when it comes to attendance at state tournaments. “We’re still very close to those thresholds of concern,” said Malcolm. Added Ehresmann, We “don’t want to give a foothold to these variants.”
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