WILLMAR — The number of new confirmed cases of COVID-19, deaths and hospitalizations related to the coronavirus changed little in the weekly situation update released Thursday by the Minnesota Department of Health.
From April 23 through April 29, 86 new confirmed cases were reported in the area, seven more than in the week before but still quite low when compared to previous peaks during the pandemic.
One death, in Stearns County, was reported in the 11 counties tracked by the West Central Tribune.
The state's report of new cases is an undercount, because at-home test results are not included.
In west central Minnesota, 11 people from area counties were hospitalized according to the state update — seven from Stearns, two from Kandiyohi and one each from Meeker and Redwood counties. The state reported 12 people in hospitals in those counties in last week's update.
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In all cases, the numbers in the updates are preliminary and may change as more information is received.
The state’s current death toll attributed to COVID-19 is 14,747, an increase of 27 from last week's report, an average of about five deaths a day.
The state's cumulative number of cases is 1,794,570, including reinfections. New cases in the past week totaled 1,235, an average of 176 new confirmed cases a day.
People who have tested positive for COVID-19 again more than 90 days after an initial lab-confirmed positive test are considered to have a reinfection.
New cases reported in the area last week: Big Stone , 1; Chippewa , 7; Kandiyohi , 8; Lac qui Parle , 0; Meeker , 6; Pope , 1; Redwood , 9; Renville , 4; Stearns , 48; Swift , 0; Yellow Medicine , 2.
The state reported 171 people hospitalized with COVID-19, as of May 2. That includes 159 people hospitalized in medical units and another 12 in intensive care units.
COVID-19 hospitalizations had a seven-day average of 15 in ICUs and 153 in medical units.
As of May 2, 4,013,072 Minnesotans, 72.1%, have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine , and 68.1% of the state's population, 3,788,733, have completed the vaccine series.
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The number of people listed as being up-to-date with their vaccines, meaning they have had booster shots, is 1,418,733, which is 25.5% of Minnesotans.
For ages 6 months through 4 years, up to date means a complete primary series. For ages 5 and older, up to date means a complete primary series and a bivalent booster dose when due.
In June 2022, the department began providing a weekly update, replacing the daily updates that began in spring 2020. The updates are released each Thursday at 11 a.m. and include data received as of 4 a.m. the preceding Tuesday.
When the report refers to numbers from last week, it refers to information gathered from Sunday through Saturday the week before the information is released.
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