COVID In MN: Case Growth Rate More Than Triples Since Mid-March

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Minnesota's latest COVID-19 case growth rate is more than triple what it was in mid-March, according to data released by the health department.

On Thursday, health officials reported an additional 2,288 new virus cases and six more deaths. The state has recorded over 1.46 million COVID-19 cases and 12,521 deaths since the pandemic began.

Thursday's figures come after weeks of increasing community transmission.

On March 17, the state's case growth was 6.8 daily new cases per 100,000 residents, which was nearly below the line of caution drawn at 5. Now, the latest case growth figure, recorded on April 27 due to data lag, is at 23.7 daily new cases per 100,000 residents.

The hospitalization rate has been increasing since early April, rising above the line of caution to 6 new COVID-19 hospitalizations per 100,000 residents as of April 26. There has been a slight dip, however, with the most recent figure at 5.8 as of April 27.

Both case growth and the hospitalization rate are seven-day rolling averages.

Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm spoke with WCCO Wednesday, and said she's not ready to call it "endemic" just yet.

"It's still a very fluid situation, and there's still a lot of virus being transmitted," she said.

Malcolm said for the virus to be endemic, it should be in the background and be managed more easily around the world.

She recommends wearing a mask in large group settings, and testing before gathering or seeing someone at higher risk.

Over 9.8 million vaccine doses have been administered in the state, with 2.2 million of those being booster shots. Of the state's eligible population, 71% have completed the vaccine series and 49% are up to date with vaccine doses.