Minnesota reports nearly 5,000 new COVID-19 cases, 23 deaths Tuesday

(FOX 9) - Minnesota health officials reported 4,906 new cases of COVID-19 and 23 more deaths Tuesday, the day Gov. Tim Walz is set to impose new coronavirus restrictions on the state. 

Two weeks ago, Minnesota had never reported more than 3,000 cases in a single day. 

The 4,906 newly reported cases were out of 34,044 completed tests—a positivity rate of 14.4%, according to the latest data from the Minnesota Department of Health. 

Minnesota has now seen 189,681 cases of COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic. Of those, more than 36,000 are active cases that require isolation. 
Thirteen of the 23 newly reported deaths were in the Twin Cities metro, while the rest were in Greater Minnesota. The deaths were all people 60 or older. Nine of the newly reported deaths were in long-term care or assisted living facilities. 

To date, there have been 2,698 deaths from COVID-19 in Minnesota.  
MDH data shows there are currently 1,224 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the state, 249 of whom are in the ICU. 

Gov. Walz is giving a live address to Minnesotans at 2 p.m. Tuesday, where he will impose new restrictions on bars, restaurants, weddings, funerals and private gatherings. The restrictions are intended to target the spread of COVID-19 among people ages 18-35, who make the largest group of COVID-19 cases and often have mild to no symptoms. 

You can watch the governor's speech live on FOX 9 or at fox9.com/live.