Posted at 11:13 a.m.
STATE UPDATES
Gov. Tim Walz is expected to extend the peacetime state of emergency this evening. The Governor’s office indicated that the briefing will be at 6:45 p.m.
The Minnesota Department of Health is reporting an additional 431 confirmed positive COVID-19 cases and an additional 24 deaths from complications of the viral disease. That brings the total to 12,917 cases and 638 deaths.
Of those deaths, 517 were residents in long-term care or assisted living facilities.
To date, 1,436 health care workers have reportedly contracted the disease at some point over the course of the outbreak. Over 122,000 tests have been completed thus far, with about 2,000 completed in a 24-hour period.
As of today, 8,149 Minnesotans have recovered from COVID-19 to the point they no longer need to be isolated. MDH updated the format of their website to clarify recovered patients from those who have died. Deaths were previously included in the patients “no longer needing isolation.”
Cumulatively, there have been 1,851 hospitalized for COVID complications, with 494 hospitalized as of today and of those, 199 are being treated in intensive care.
MDH officials will update COVID-19 modeling today at 11 a.m. A full report will be published momentarily. Modeling is, at best, a prediction, and these figures are used to help hospitals and the state prepare themselves for the COVID situation.
Gov. Walz signed into law an extension of the Minnesota fund dedicated to COVID-19 response, which was set to expire Monday. The fund, according to a release, has helped increase testing capacity, ensured an adequate number of hospital beds and purchased personal protective equipment.
LOCAL UPDATES
Greater Bemidji recently announced that an anonymous $500,000 donation will be made available for businesses struggling amid the pandemic. Funds will be prioritized to those particularly impacted by the executive orders from the Governor’s office, such as salons, spas, pubs, bars, restaurants and other small businesses. Applications are due Friday at 5 p.m. Read more about it here.
MDH reports six COVID-19 cases in Beltrami, eight in Cass with two deaths, two in Clearwater, three in Mahnomen with one death, and an additional five new cases in Itasca bringing their total to 40 with two deaths.
As reported before, all cases in Beltrami County have recovered to the point they no longer need to be isolated. MDH will report all numbers historically associated with a county, even if all patients have recovered. MDH has reported Clearwater County at two cases for a number of weeks, and Cass County has seen a slow increase in cases, with two deaths reported by MDH in the last week.
Nearby, Koochiching County reported their third positive COVID-19 case Monday, which still hasn’t shown on MDH’s maps. Roseau County has one COVID case, Pennington has one, Polk has 54 with one death and Becker County is reporting 28 cases as of today.
