COVID In Minnesota: MDH Reports 12 More Deaths, 1,061 New Cases

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- As more and more employees return to the office in Minnesota, the state's latest COVID-19 positivity rate continues to drop to levels not seen since last summer.

On Tuesday, the health department updated COVID-19 data, showing 1,061 more virus cases and 12 additional deaths. The update includes figures from over the weekend. There have been over 1.4 million total positive reported cases and 12,340 deaths since the pandemic began.

Like the latest positivity rate (2.9%), the hospitalization rate is at the lowest level seen since last July. Both health indicators are seven-day rolling averages as of March 14.

At the beginning of the week, there were 31 patients with the virus requiring intensive care unit beds. An additional 219 patients with COVID-19 need non-ICU beds. In December, there were over 300 patients needing ICU beds, with several times that needing non-ICU beds.

As for vaccines, nearly 75% of the eligible population has received at least one vaccine dose and over 9.4 million total doses have been administered.