Minnesota posts 67 new virus deaths as state awaits vaccine

MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota health officials on Saturday reported 67 additional COVID-19 deaths and more than 4,400 coronavirus cases.

The state Health Department report comes as the nation’s first COVID-19 vaccine will begin arriving in states Monday morning, U.S. officials said Saturday, after the government gave the final go-ahead to the shots needed to end the outbreak among Americans.

The Star Tribune reports that health officials are waiting to see more numbers before drawing conclusions about the potential for more spread following Thanksgiving holiday travel and gatherings. Although daily case numbers continue to be lower than November’s peak, health officials said daily case counts remain quite high.

There were 1,354 new cases per 100,000 people in Minnesota over the past two weeks, which ranks second in the country for new cases per capita, according to Johns Hopkins University researchers. One in every 175 people in Minnesota tested positive in the past week, according to The COVID Tracking Project.

Residents of long-term care and assisted-living facilities accounted for 37 of the newly announced deaths, and 2,856 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

Since the virus started infecting Minnesota residents in March, the state has reported 375,398 positive cases, 19,428 hospitalizations and 4,359 deaths.

That death count is the 21st highest in the country overall and the 27th highest per capita at 79 deaths per 100,000 people, according to The COVID Tracking Project.

Numbers released Saturday show health care workers have accounted for 28,052 positive cases. More than 335,000 people who were infected no longer need to be isolated.