Over 30% of Minnesota seniors have at least 1st COVID-19 vaccine dose

(FOX 9) - Over 30% of people age 65 and older in Minnesota have now received at least the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, the latest data from the state Department of Health shows.

As of Feb. 10, 617,896 people in Minnesota have received at least the first dose of the vaccine and 189,902 people are fully vaccinated, which is roughly 14.4% and 4.2% of the state’s adult population respectively. Vaccination reporting lags by a few days.

1,024 new COVID-19 cases reported Friday

State health officials reported 1,024 new cases of COVID-19, the first time in a week the state has reported more than 1,000 cases in a single day.

Minnesota has now seen a total of 471,851 COVID-19 cases since the first infection was reported in the state last March, according to the latest MDH data.

Walz: No lifting of business restrictions imminent, despite improving COVID numbers

Gov. Tim Walz is giving no indication that he'll move to lift Minnesota's coronavirus-related business restrictions soon, even as virus metrics plummet to their lowest levels in months.

The 1,204 newly reported cases were out of 43,554 tests—a 2.4% positivity rate. Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said Thursday the state’s rolling average test positivity rate is now 3.9%, the lowest it has been since June 27. Anything over 5% is a concern for MDH.

There are 8,130 active cases of COVID-19 in Minnesota.

Death toll rises to 6,362

State health officials reported 19 more deaths attributed to COVID-19 on Friday, bringing the state’s death toll from the disease to 6,362.

Nine of the 19 COVID-19 deaths reported on Friday were in the Twin Cities metro.

The newly reported deaths were all among people 55-99 years old. Fifteen of the deaths were people who lived in long-term care or assisted living facilities. Minnesota has now surpassed more than 4,000 COVID-19 deaths in long-term care or assisted living facilities.