The Minnesota Department of Health reported 502 new COVID-19 cases today and six new COVID-related deaths, bringing the state’s totals to 76,355 cases and 1,823 deaths.
Of those deaths, 1,340 were residents of long-term care or assisted living facilities. Of those cases, 8,396 were health care workers.
Since late March, almost 1.5 million tests have been completed with 1.132 million people tested. Yesterday, 9,158 tests were completed, all by external labs.
There are 136 COVID patients in the ICU today, up from 131 yesterday, with 158 other COVID patients hospitalized in non-critical settings.
MDH reported one new case in Hubbard County today, bringing the cumulative total to 46; three new cases in Lake of the Woods County, bringing the total to 10; one new case in Mahnomen County, bringing their total to 37 with one death; and one new case in Roseau County, for a total of 74 cases.
MDH reported three new cases in Itasca County, as Itasca exceeds 200 cases, with 201 cases with 12 deaths.
According to Anna Anttila, Emergency Preparedness Coordinator for Itasca County, recent local cases have occurred across ages and communities.
“Every person, every choice matters when it comes to stopping the spread of COVID in Itasca County,” said Anttila.
“We can turn this around so our children can continue to attend school and so that we go into the fall and winter resilient. We know what to do: wear face coverings, keep physical distance, avoid large gatherings, wash your hands, stay home if you’re sick.”
On Friday, Aug. 28, Itasca County Public Health and Essentia Health announced that they were aware of a cluster of COVID-19 cases at Comstock Court, an independent, senior apartment complex in Deer River owned by Essentia Health. No additional positive cases have been identified there since cases were identified and quarantine and contact tracing began.
