COVID-19 hospitalizations fall below 400 for 1st time since March

Hospitalizations for COVID-19 fell below 400 in Minnesota for the first time since March, state health officials reported Friday.  

There are currently 396 people hospitalized with COVID-19 across the state, according to the latest Minnesota Department of Health data. Of those patients, 116 are in the ICU. Hospitalizations peaked at 699 this spring during the surge in COVID-19 infections.  

MDH also reported 21 additional deaths attributed to COVID-19 Friday, the most reported in a single day since April 28.  

Nine of the 21 newly reported deaths were in long-term care facilities, MDH data shows. Eleven of the deaths were in the seven-county Twin Cities metro. Five of the people who died were under the age of 65.  

A total of 7,354 Minnesotans have died from COVID-19 to date.  

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Free beer or sports tickets for a COVID vaccine? Walz says it's time

Gov. Tim Walz says Minnesota needs to start incentivizing people to get a COVID-19 vaccine as several other states have done.

MDH reported 690 new COVID-19 cases on Friday out of 27,261 tests, a 2.55 test positivity rate.  Minnesota has seen 597,731 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began.  

Meanwhile, MDH reported nearly 63% of Minnesotans over the age of 16 have at least their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and around 55% are fully vaccinated.  

Over 5 million vaccine doses have been administered in Minnesota so far.