3-15 COVID-19 Update: B.1.1.7 Variant Causing Concern Among Minnesota Health Officials

3-15 COVID-19 Update: B.1.1.7 Variant Causing Concern Among Minnesota Health Officials

The Minnesota Department of Health will hold conference call Monday at 2 p.m. to provide the latest public health information regarding COVID-19 vaccines, variants and cases, including impact on youth sports.

You can watch the full briefing here.

MDH Commissioner Jan Malcolm:

• In Minnesota, 498,218 total cases since start of pandemic (up 829 on testing volume of 16,417 lab tests)
  • 1,191 cases reported on Saturday, 994 cases on Sunday
  • Of the 498,218 cases, 482,984 of them (97%) no longer require isolation 
• In Minnesota, 6,747 total deaths (up 1)
  • 4 new deaths also reported Saturday, 5 on Sunday
• New rollback on COVID-19 business restrictions took effect Monday.
• Cases climbing, while testing going up at slower rate over prior week
• 7-day case positivity rate at 3.6% (5% is caution threshold)
• Increase in hospital bed use over past week
• “There’s still a lot of viral activity around our state. Our cases on a population basis are high and ticking back up a bit,” said Malcolm, who reminds Minnesotans to continue masking and use 6 feet of social distancing when interacting with people outside immediate household.

Latest on COVID-19 Vaccines

• 1.95 million doses of vaccine administered in Minnesota
  • Of those doses, 1.26 million people have received at least one dose (22.7% of state’s population)
• 75.6% of people age 65+ have received at least one dose of vaccine

MDH Infectious Disease Division Director Kris Ehresmann:

• Minnesota doing well with people following up to get their second dose – 90.5% got second dose, and of those, 95% got second dose within recommended interval.
• Second dose needs to be same vaccine product as first dose.
• If you miss interval, you should still get second dose.

MDH Assistant Commissioner Dan Huff:

• Early data suggest that B.1.1.7 variant is 50% more contagious than original virus.
• This variant, first discovered in United Kingdom, also shown to cause more severe illness.
• 250 cases detected of B.1.1.7 variant in at least 24 counties
• “It has the potential to be a setback to our continued and hard-fought progress against the virus,” said Huff.
• Case rates approaching October 2020 (Rough a 1/3 of these cases found to be among young people under age 20).
• Continue to monitor a cluster of cases in southwest metro area, including outbreak linked to youth sports in Carver County. (80% case growth in Carver County from February to March)
  • 140 cases traced to Carver County cluster — 32 of these cases are B.1.1.7 variant, 67 cases pending additional analysis, 41 cases unable to sequence
• “What has happened in Carver County can – and unless we act to stop it – will occur throughout the state.”
• Regular testing is vital – kids who return to school and parents – encouraged to get tested every two weeks from now and until end of school year. “Testing has never been easier,” said Huff, which includes at-home saliva testing. Those at-home tests can even be dropped off at school.
  • Kids who are involved in sports and activities where social distancing is difficult should get tested every week AND three days prior to games and matches.
  • Teachers should continue to get tested at school EVEN AFTER vaccination.

Also on today’s call:

Heidi Miler, Head Coach, WEST Express Swim Team

• “Very hard for our team,” right in the middle of our championship season when outbreak occurred in Carver County. Final meet was supposed to be this coming weekend. “We haven’t had a single COVID case at pools throughout pandemic.” Haven’t used locker rooms, haven’t had spectators at meets.

Glen Andresen, Executive Director, Minnesota Hockey

• Youth season ends in two weeks, high school season shortly after that. Urging all teams to do whatever they can to keep everyone else safe. Refrain from hanging out with teammates before and after rink time.

Kevin Borg, Superintendent, Westonka Public Schools

• “We appreciate the efforts by everyone that allow our students back in school.” K-4 has in-person learning in his district. Operating in hybrid for grades 5-12 since January.

Q&A Session and Notes:

• On Carver County outbreak: “The more cases that are out there, the more this virus replicates,” said Malcolm. Twelve individuals admitted to hospital; 2 admitted to intensive care and both passed away.
• Why not pause sports for a couple weeks? Huff: “There are risks and we work to mitigate those risks.” “Limit those extra exposures,” said Huff, but we are also balancing many aspects of health, including mental health. Testing important and buckling down by masking and social distancing.
  • On Carver County cases continuing to go up and relation to B.1.1.7. “We don’t have the level of granularity” to speak with specifics how much it’s contributing to case growth, said Ehresmann.

Also see: 3-9 COVID-19 Update: Minnesota to Start Next Vaccine Phase Three Weeks Ahead of Schedule

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