94 deaths from coronavirus in Minnesota after 7 more reported
An additional 103 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Minnesota and seven more people have died from the disease, according to Thursday's update from the Minnesota Department of Health.
That brings the coronavirus death toll in Minnesota to 94, while the number of confirmed cases increased to 1,912.
The increase in confirmed cases comes after 1,433 tests were performed between 4 p.m. Tuesday and 4 p.m. Wednesday, which is the cut-off point of the daily reporting period. A total of just over 1,800 tests were completed Monday and Tuesday combined.
There has also been an increase in the number of patients in the ICU, rising from 93 to 103.
- Confirmed cases: 1,912 (up from 1,809)
- Deaths: 94 (up from 87)
- Total hospitalized: 475 (up from 445)
- Still hospitalized: 213 (up from 197)
- Patients in intensive care: 103 (up from 93).
- Patient recoveries: 1,020 (up from 940).
Fifty-two of the 94 deaths are from Hennepin County, where there are now 706 confirmed cases. Scroll through the chart below to find case totals for every county where the virus has been confirmed.
On Wednesday, Gov. Tim Walz noted that Minnesota's mitigation and social distancing prowess has helped slow the outbreak. He compared Minnesota to Louisiana, saying Minnesota reached 100 confirmed cases before Louisiana did.
"We were worse than Louisiana at one point, in quickness to 100 cases," Walz said. "Now they have blown up and gone off. Minnesota has been able to stay where we are because we're doing these things right."
As of Wednesday, Louisiana, a state with approximately 1 million fewer residents than Minnesota, had 21,951 laboratory-confirmed tests and 1,103 deaths.
The major difference, however, is that Minnesota has conducted just over 40,000 molecular diagnostic tests for COVID-19 while Louisiana has produced nearly 122,000 tests, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Still, Minnesota has a much lower positive rate. For comparison, look no further than Wisconsin, where as of Wednesday our neighbor to the east had nearly double the number of positive cases (3,550) from only a few thousand more tests (43,327).
Minnesota Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm says that all of Minnesota's COVID-19 fatalities have been confirmed with testing. If deaths are only listed as "suspected" or "probable" of having been caused by COVID-19, they aren't included in the death count.
Anyone with COVID-19 symptoms – fever, cough, shortness of breath, body aches, headache, chills, or sore throat – should self-quarantine for at least seven days, or until going without a fever for 72 hours (without fever-reducing medication), according to guidance from the state health department.
The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention registered Minnesota as a "widespread" COVID-19 state on April 6, echoing the belief that the MDH has expressed to Minnesotans for weeks. Because of widespread community transmission, there are many more assumed cases of COVID-19 – possibly 100 times the number of confirmed cases – that cannot be formally diagnosed due to testing limitations.
The age range for confirmed cases has been as young as 4 weeks old to 104 years old, with a median age of 54, while the average age of persons who have died from the disease is 87.
You can find guidance on what to do in the event you have any kind of respiratory symptoms here.
