Child under 10 years old dies from COVID-19 in Minnesota

Minnesota has reported the state's second COVID-19 death of a child. An update from the department of health on Wednesday reveals that a child aged 5-9 in Chippewa County died of the disease caused by the coronavirus. 

It is the second case of a child death from COVID-19. The first was reported by the health department in July. No children between 10-18 years old has died from the disease in Minnesota, and just nine people aged 20-29 have succumbed from disease-related complications, according to health department data. 

The child's identity and hometown have not been released, nor is it clear if the child had any underlying health conditions. 

Wednesday's COVID update from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) includes 677 new cases and a total of 11 deaths.

The newly reported deaths bring the state's total to 6,319 over the course of the pandemic. Of those deaths, 63% (3,983) were residents of long-term care, including seven of the 11 reported Wednesday.

Through Feb. 8, the state reported that 583,602 people have received at least 1 dose of the a COVID-19 vaccine while 168,495 people have completed both doses of vaccine that are required for the vaccines' maximum effect.

MDH has a public dashboard to track vaccine progress in Minnesota, and you can view it here.

Two new variants of the coronavirus have been confirmed in Minnesota, including what was the first known case of the Brazil P.1 variant in the United States. That case involves a Minnesotan who traveled to Brazil. There are 8 confirmed cases of the B.1.1.7 variant. Both new strains are believed to be more transmissible.

Hospitalizations

Through Feb. 9, the number of people with COVID-19 hospitalized in Minnesota was 317. Of those hospitalized, 78 were in intensive care, and 239 were receiving non-ICU treatment.

Statewide, there were 164 staffed ICU beds available. During the November surge the state had fewer than 100 staffed ICU beds available. The number of available beds is dependent on the number of available staff, so the totals are constantly changing.

Testing and positivity rates

The 677 positive results in Wednesday's update were from a total of 20,217 completed tests, creating a daily test positivity rate of 3.35%.

According to Johns Hopkins University, Minnesota's test positivity rate over the past seven days is 3.45%, making it one of the lowest rates in the country.

The World Health Organization recommends that a percent positive rate (total positives divided by total completed tests) of below 5% for at least two weeks is necessary to safely reopen the economy.That 5% threshold is based on total positives divided by total tests.

Coronavirus in Minnesota by the numbers

• Total tests: 6,828,887 (up from 6,808,634)
• People tested: 3,327,336 (up from 3,322,594)
• People with at least 1 vaccine shot: 583,602 (up from 569,164)
• People with 2 vaccine shots: 168,495 (up from 162,132)
• Positive cases: 465,905 (up from 469,254)
• Deaths: 6,319 – 262 of which are "probable*" (up from 6,308)
• Patients no longer requiring isolation: 456,244 (up from 455,280)

* Probable deaths are patients who died after testing positive using the COVID-19 antigen test, which is thought to be less accurate than the more common PCR test.