3-19 COVID-19 Update: Minnesota’s 7-Day Case Rate at 4.2%, Highest Since January
3-19 COVID-19 Update: Minnesota’s 7-Day Case Rate at 4.2%, Highest Since January
The Minnesota Department of Health provided an update Friday at 2 p.m. on the latest public health information regarding COVID-19 vaccines, variants and cases.
You can watch the full briefing here.
MDH Commissioner Jan Malcolm:
- In Minnesota, 502,893 cases since start of pandemic (up 1,449 on testing volume of about 40,000)
- In Minnesota, 6,771 total deaths (up 9)
- Minnesota’s 7-day rolling average case rate now at 4.2%, highest since Jan. 26 (Caution threshold is 5%)
Latest on COVID-19 Vaccines:
- 2.08 million doses administered in Minnesota
- Of those doses, 1.34 million Minnesotans have received at least one dose
- 77.5% of people age 65+ have received at least one dose
- Doses scheduled to be administered next week in Minnesota: 64,000 Moderna doses, 74,880 Pfizer doses and 12,600 doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine
MDH Infectious Disease Division Director Kris Ehresmann:
- B.1.1.7 variant (first discovered in United Kingdom) likely to take over as predominant strain in United States, said Ehresmann
- B.1.351 variant (first discovered in South Africa), has now been detected in Minnesota
- P.1 variant (first discovered in Japan among travelers from Brazil), also detected in MDH labs
- “We are seeing concerning increases in a number of areas in Minnesota,” said Ehresmann regarding cluster outbreaks, including Carver, Blue Earth and St. Louis counties.
- “We are in a race of the variants against the vaccine,” said Ehresmann, urging extreme caution over spring break travel. “Remember to wear a mask if you gather with other households.”
- Indoor social gatherings no more than 15 people total according to state guidance; outdoor gatherings no more than 50 people.
- CDC still discourages interstate and international travel, unless absolutely essential
- MDH travel safety guidance here: https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/prevention.html
CDC Adjusts Classroom Guidance
- Students can now sit just 3 feet apart in the classroom as long as they wear masks, according to new CDC guidance.
- Students should still be kept the usual 6 feet away from one another at sporting events, assemblies, lunch or chorus practice.
- Per Malcolm, MDH still recommends 6 feet whenever feasible due to rapid spread of variants.
Q&A Session and Notes:
“The more interacting we do the more chance there is for transmission,” said Malcolm, when asked if there is a link between further opening up the state and the current uptick in cases. Ehresmann notes it’s also because of a “much more transmissible virus” out there, which includes the B.1.1.7 variant.
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