Minnesota's confirmed coronavirus cases rise to 54
There are now 54 confirmed positive cases of the coronavirus in Minnesota.
The latest figures from the Minnesota Department of Health were updated on Monday morning, confirming 54 positive tests out of 1,893 tests that have been carried out.
That's a rise of 19 on the 35 that had been confirmed as of Sunday afternoon.
Of these, more than 20 cases are in Hennepin County, which comes after both the Seward Co-op and the May Day Cafe in Minneapolis announced that an employee at each location had tested positive for COVID-19.
The MDH site says that Blue Earth and Benton County have also had their first confirmed cases.
Here's where the 19 new cases came from:
10 Hennepin
2 Dakota
2 Ramsey
1 Olmsted
1 Washington
1 Blue earth
1 Anoka
1 Benton
MDH
On Sunday, health officials confirmed the first three cases of community transmission – where there is no obvious exposure resulting from travel or contact with a COVID-19 positive person – in the state.
Out of the 19 additional cases confirmed on Monday, 9 have been traced back to international and domestic travel. At this stage, it's not known if the other 10 have resulted from community transmission.
Unless one of the 10 cases that have yet to be thoroughly investigated changes things, none of the confirmed patients are health care workers.
Medical advice for those with symptoms
"Widespread testing is an aspirational goal that we all have," she MDH infectious disease director Kris Ehresmann. "However, given the global/national demands and need for testing, some of the materials that we need to be able to test are in short supply at a global level. We need to prioritize the testing we are doing so we are testing the situations that have the greatest impact on health care."
"People don't need to be tested for COVID-19 if they're in a situation where they can manage their symptoms at home," she added. "If you are sick, we ask that you stay home for at least 7 days. And you should be fever free for 3 days without the use of fever-reducing medications."
"If you have upper-respiratory symptoms, stay home. If you feel you should seek medical care, you should contact your medical provider."
"You don't need to seek medical care just because COVID-19 is circulating."
The MDH have tested 471 more patients since Sunday, however the total number of patients tested may actually be higher.
That's because health organizations such as the Mayo Clinic, which is carrying out its own tests independently, only report positive cases to the health department, and not the number of patients tested.
The MDH hotline for coronavirus is: 651-201-3920.
The Minnesota DPS and Minnesota Department of Education hotline about community mitigation in schools can be reached at 1-800-657-3504.
