COVID In Minnesota: 13 Deaths, 1,611 Cases Reported; Hospitalizations Continue To Spike

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - Roughly 37% of eligible Minnesotans have been fully inoculated against COVID-19, the state reported Wednesday. Meanwhile, 1,611 more cases were reported, along with 13 fatalities.

As of Monday, the state has administered over 3.4 million vaccine doses. Over 52% of the population 16 and older have received their first dose, while 85% of those 65 and older have received one shot.

However, the state's positivity rate hovers around 7.3%. Hospitalizations have been rising over the past weeks; it now sits at 14.2 admissions per 100,000 residents, well into the "high risk" category. As of Tuesday afternoon, there were 676 people in the hospital with COVID-19, of which 193 were in the ICU.

At the same time, community spread remains high; 43% of those who contract the virus do not know where they were exposed to it.

Since the start of the pandemic, 560,450 Minnesotans have contracted COVID-19, with 537,130 of the cases no longer needing to self-isolate. The death toll is now at 7,044.

In the past day, the state has processed over 24,000 COVID-19 tests. More than 3.9 million Minnesotans have been tested for the virus since last March, and cumulatively, over 8.9 million tests have been completed.