(FOX 9) - The Minnesota Department of Health reported 1,088 new COVID-19 cases and 12 more deaths Tuesday.
The 10 newly reported deaths included one long-term care resident and one child from Lyon County between the ages of 5 and 9. The child was a first grade student with no underlying health conditions who died on Sunday, according to officials.
A total of 7,091 people in Minnesota have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic began.
The 1,088 new cases reported on Tuesday were out of 13,658 tests, an 8% positivity rate. Minnesota’s seven-day rolling average positivity rate continues to decline, now down to 6.6% as of April 18 from its peak at 7.4% on April 7, although it is a lagging indicator. Anything over 5% is a concern for MDH because it indicates a high rate of community transmission of the virus.
Minnesota has recorded 570,518 COVID-19 cases since the first case was reported in the state last March.
COVID-19 hospitalizations increased from 613 to 641, with 184 of those patients in the ICU. However, hospitalizations are still down from their peak at 699 on April 14.
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Minnesotans express hope, excitement as COVID-19 vaccinations increase
Each day, more than 3,000 people come through the line at the Minnesota state fairgrounds to get vaccinated against COVID-19, according to organizers.
Meanwhile, 56% of eligible Minnesotans have received at least dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 41.1% are fully vaccinated, according to the last MDH data.
Over four million doses of the vaccine have been administered in Minnesota to date.
Getting a vaccine appointment is no longer as difficult as it once was. Vaccination clinics at counties throughout the metro are showing thousands of available appointments. Minnesotans also now have the option to schedule an appointment at one of the state’s community vaccination clinics directly through the Vaccine Connector website, rather than wait to be randomly selected.
More information on how to find a shot can be found here.