COVID In Minnesota: MDH unveils new, weekly reporting methods
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Department of Health on Thursday delivered its first new, weekly update on COVID-19 data since switching from a daily schedule.
The department's update includes new reporting methods, including a 7-day moving average of cases and deaths.
The death rate was most recently reported at 0.10 per day, while the case average was at 725.4. The data is current as of 4 a.m. Tuesday, and is calculated by adding the total deaths and new cases in a seven-day period and dividing each by seven.
The health department said the 7-day moving averages provide "a more accurate representation ... by smoothing out any short-term spikes or dips that occur across a week as a result of external factors, such as a facility not being open on certain days or delays in data reporting."
There have now been 1,561,487 cumulative cases in Minnesota, and 12,837 deaths.
Health officials are also now reporting hospitalizations and intensive care admissions as 7-day moving averages. The hospitalization rate stands at 15.3 per day, while ICU admissions are at 1.6. As of Tuesday, there were 385 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Minnesota. Forty of those cases required intensive care.
More than 68% of the state's total population has completed a vaccine series, while 30.5% are up to date, including boosters. More than 10,000 children in the latest age group to be authorized for vaccination (6 months to 6 years) have received a shot.
