Coronavirus In Minnesota: 728 New COVID-19 Cases Reported As Death Toll Nears 500
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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Minnesota reported 728 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, marking a single-day record as testing in the state continues to ramp up.
Additionally, 30 more deaths were reported in the last 24 hours, also marking another daily record. The state's death toll is now at 485, with the majority of the victims (391) having been in long-term care facilities, such as nursing homes, which have been particularly hard hit by the virus. Among the latest deaths included one in Nobles County, where an outbreak connected with the JBS pork processing plant in Worthington has resulted in 1,082 confirmed cases.
Meanwhile, as the number of new cases climbs, so does testing. Since Tuesday, 5,223 tests were recorded in state-run and private labs. Officials had hoped to reach the 5,000 tests a day benchmark this week, with the ultimate goal of capacity hitting 20,000 tests a day, enough for every citizen showing symptoms to get a test.
Since the outbreak was first detected in Minnesota in March, 8,579 people have tested positive for the virus, with more than 1,000 of them being health care workers.
Some 443 people are currently battling COVID-19 in Minnesota hospitals. Of them, 180 are in intensive care -- down two from Tuesday. Meanwhile, roughly 5,000 people have recovered from the disease and no longer need to be in isolation.
Minnesota remains under a stay-at-home order until May 18. Even so, Gov. Tim Walz is allowing more and more sectors of the economy to reopen. This week, small retailers were allowed to open for curbside pickup, and doctors and veterinarians were given a "road map" to restart elective surgeries as soon as next week.
Still, some businesses, such as bars, concerts venues and salons remain closed, and tensions are rising. On Tuesday, one barbershop opened its doors in defiance of the stay-at-home order. Milan Dennie, the owner of King Milan Barbershop in St. Paul, served 16 customers while insisting on social distancing. Still, a police officer shut him down around noon.
"We just stepped outside and he talked to me," Dennie said. "He said he feels what I'm going through, but the order is in place right now."
Also on Tuesday, state officials revealed that the COVID-19 outbreak has had a devastating impact on the state's budget. Minnesota is now facing a projected deficit of $2.4 billion for the current biennium -- a nearly $4 billion change since a surplus was projected in February, just weeks before the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in Minnesota.
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