COVID-19 in Minnesota: Test result reporting delays from private lab continue to skew daily numbers
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - The Minnesota Department of Health reported its daily COVID-19 case numbers and information Saturday, but for the third straight day, the numbers came with a disclaimer that the numbers might be skewed due to reporting delays from a private lab.
Thursday, the Minnesota Department of Health said Valley Medical has had an “inconsistent record of reporting results” to the state. After MDH followed up, the company provided more than 19,000 COVID-19 test results to the state as required.
With that disclaimer, the state reported 1,032 new COVID-19 cases Saturday along with four new COVID-19 deaths.
To date, more than 1.4 million tests have been returned to the Department of Health. In total, 74,257 of those tests have been positive. 66,107 of those cases no longer require isolation.
1,814 Minnesotans have died from COVID-19 to date.
Minnesota to get new COVID-19 saliva testing lab that will double state’s testing capacity
The nation’s leading distributor of COVID-19 saliva testing is planning to establish a new saliva testing lab in Minnesota that will more than double the state’s current test processing capacity, Gov. Tim Walz announced Tuesday.
313 Minnesotans are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, 134 of whom are in intensive care. A total of 6,411 Minnesota patients have been hospitalized since the pandemic began.
The 20-24-year-old age group continues to have the highest number of COVID-19 cases, followed by the 24-29-year-old age group.