Minnesota reports record 67 COVID-19 deaths Wednesday
(FOX 9) - Minnesota health officials reported 67 new deaths attributed to COVID-19 Wednesday, the most deaths reported in a single day to date.
The new record is 11 deaths higher than the previous record of 56 reported on Nov. 11. Minnesota has now surpassed 3,000 deaths from COVID-19, 256 of which came in the last week alone, according to Minnesota Department of Health data.
Of the 67 newly reported deaths, 25 were in the Twin Cities metro while 42 were in Greater Minnesota.
All 67 deaths were people 55 or older. Of the 67 people who died, 51 were residents of long-term care or assisted living facilities.
Minnesota Governor hints at more COVID-19 restrictions, Republicans give statement on recent outbreak
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is expected to announce more COVID-19 restrictions as the state faces increasing cases. Meanwhile, Republican officials are responding to a recent outbreak within the party.
MDH reported 5,102 new cases of COVID-19 on a volume of 37,026 tests—a positivity rate of 13.8%.
There have been a total of 242,043 cases of COVID-19 reported in Minnesota since the pandemic began. Of those cases, 48,174 are currently active and require the infected person to be isolated.
After 5 days in ICU, former Republican lawmaker Nick Zerwas urges Minnesotans to take COVID seriously
Former Republican state representative Nick Zerwas is now one of the loudest voices from his party urging Minnesotans to take the coronavirus seriously after he spent five days in the ICU last week battling the disease.
Hospitalizations continue to rise, with 1,706 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19—355 of whom are in the ICU.
As COVID-19 deaths, cases and hospitalizations continue to hit new highs, Gov. Tim Walz is expected to announce more restrictions for dining, gyms and sports to slow the spread of the virus across the state. The governor plans to announce the new restrictions in a televised speech at 6 p.m. Wednesday. You can watch the speech live on FOX 9 or streaming at fox9.com/live.