(FOX 9) - Minnesota health officials reported 2,004 new cases of COVID-19 and 44 additional deaths Thursday.
The Minnesota Department of Health has reported 429,570 confirmed COVID-19 cases since the first infection was reported in the state in March. Over 95% of those cases have recovered to the point where they no longer require isolation. A total of 5,572 people in Minnesota have died from the disease so far.
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The 2,004 newly reported deaths were on a volume of 42,049 tests—a positivity rate of 4.8% and a sign that testing is rebounding after a lull over the holiday weekend.
Twenty-one of the 44 deaths reported on Thursday were in the Twin Cities metro while the rest were in Greater Minnesota. Twenty-three of the people who died were residents of long-term care and assisted living facilities and one lived in a hotel or motel.
The deaths included two people in their late 40s, one from Anoka County and the other from Jackson. The rest of the deaths were among people 60 and older.
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There are currently 787 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Minnesota, down from 926 at this time last week. Of those 787 patients, 135 are in the ICU. Approximately 6% of all ICU beds in the Twin Cities metro are currently available.
As of Thursday, there have been a total of 91,174 vaccines have been administered in Minnesota, with 74,191 people receiving the Pfizer vaccine and 16,935 receiving the Moderna one, according to MDH data. State health officials explained that the real-time vaccine numbers are higher than the numbers posted online due to delays in the reporting process.