Health department data shows omicron is on the fall in Minnesota

Omicron peak in Minnesota: Models show promising declines

The worse of the omicron surge may be over as models tracking the COVID-19 variant are showing promising drops.

(FOX 9) - Minnesota state health data shows COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are dropping from mid-January peaks as the omicron wave starts to fade, matching data from wastewater surveillance.

New numbers show the state's seven-day positivity rate has been falling since January 9, when it peaked at 20.4 percent.

At the same time, hospitalizations have started to decrease, going from 263 people in the ICU statewide as of January 10 to 213 patients in the ICU, recent data shows. The dropping numbers jibe with data from the Met Council's wastewater surveillance program, which tracks the viral load of COVID-19 in sewage in the Twin Cities.

That data, which is sampled in a partnership with the University of Minnesota, shows COVID-19 traces steeply dropping off since January 10, the peak. That same day, Minnesota recorded its highest number of positive tests since the start of the pandemic.

But, while omicron numbers have significantly fallen off, the wastewater data puts COVID-19 cases at about the same range as when delta was spiking.