COVID In MN: 600+ Cases Reported As CDC Extends Nat'l Mask Mandate On Planes, Public Transportation

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- As the CDC extends the nationwide mask mandate for planes and public transportation, Minnesota health officials on Wednesday reported 686 new COVID-19 cases and five more deaths.

According to the state health department's daily update, there have been 1.4 million cases and 12,454 deaths reported in the state since the pandemic began.

Notably, due to changing federal test reporting requirements, testing data has been removed from the Minnesota Department of Health's website as of Wednesday, impacting the accuracy of positivity rate calculations. While positive test results are still required to be reported, not all negative test results are reported anymore.

"Because we are no longer receiving all test results from labs, our testing data were not complete and the calculations for positivity rate were affected. Since the data was no longer accurate, it was removed," the health department said.

Public health indicators that the health department still provides look positive, however. Case growth is just above the caution line, sitting at eight new cases per 100,000 residents. And the hospitalization rate is below the line of caution, last recorded at 3.4 new COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 residents.

As of Tuesday, there were 33 patients with the virus needing intensive care unit beds and an additional 152 patients with the virus needing non-ICU beds. Nearly 62,000 cases of COVID-19 have required hospitalization.

Nearly 75% of the state's eligible population has received at least one vaccine dose; 70.9% have completed the vaccine series.