STATE UPDATES
The Minnesota Department of Health is reporting 705 newly reported COVID-19 cases and nine newly reported cases, bringing the total to 16,372 positive tests and 731 deaths.
Almost 11,000 COVID patients have recovered to the point they no longer need to be isolated, and over 156,000 tests have been completed.
Almost 2,000 health care workers have had COVID-19 at some point during the epidemic, and of the deaths, 595 were residents in long-term care or assisted living facilities.
To date, 2,128 have been hospitalized for severe COVID-19, with 488 hospitalized today and of those, 229 are in the ICU.
Gov. Tim Walz’s stay at home order ended last night, and many are returning to work. Retail outlets that were previously closed are once again open to customer traffic. Dine-in services at bars and restaurants, as well as services at salons and barbershops, are not yet available per executive order, but Walz is anticipated to allow those types of establishments to reopen June 1.
LOCAL UPDATES
Beltrami County Public Health Director Cynthia Borgen confirmed last Friday that one of the three new COVID-19 cases reported by the Minnesota Department of Health is currently living in the county, while the other two are not. MDH reports Beltrami County at nine cases, with six of those recovered to the point they no longer need to be isolated, and two believed to reside in other counties. Borgen said that Beltrami’s new case appears to have contracted the disease via community spread, a first, as the other confirmed cases were believed to have been exposed by travel or contact with a known case.
MDH reported an additional COVID-19 case in Cass County today, bringing their total to 10 with two deaths. An additional three cases were added to Itasca County, bringing their total to 49 with five deaths, and two new cases were reported in Koochiching County, bringing their total to five.
