WILLMAR — New confirmed cases of COVID-19 are lower in the latest weekly situation update released Thursday by the Minnesota Department of Health.
However, deaths and hospitalizations were both up slightly in the 11 counties tracked by the West Central Tribune.
From April 2 through April 8, 110 new confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported. Most of those cases, 71, were reported in Stearns County, the largest county in the area.
Two deaths, one person in Meeker County and one in Stearns County, were reported in the state update.
The state's report of new cases is an undercount, because at-home test results are not included.
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In west central Minnesota, 10 people from area counties were hospitalized — eight from Stearns County, and one each from Kandiyohi and Lac qui Parle counties.
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 14,659, an increase of 35 deaths from last week's report and an average of five deaths a day.
The state's cumulative number of cases is 1,790,447, including reinfections. New cases reported to the state in the past week totaled 1,702, an average of 243 new cases a day. The daily average is 50 cases lower than in the previous state update.
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 , 4; Chippewa , 1; Kandiyohi , 9; Lac qui Parle , 2; Meeker , 2; Pope , 10; Redwood , 5; Renville , 2; Stearns , 71; Swift , 1; Yellow Medicine , 3.
The state reported 204 people hospitalized with COVID-19, as of April 11. That includes 178 people hospitalized in medical units, 33 fewer than the week before, and another 26 in intensive care units, four more than the week before.
Hospitalizations had a seven-day average of 22 in ICUs and 186 in medical units. The daily average is one lower for ICUs and 22 lower for medical units.
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As of April 11, 4,012,993 Minnesotans, 72.1%, have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine , and 68.1% of the state's population, 3,788,337, have completed the vaccine series.
The number of people listed as being up-to-date with their vaccines, meaning they have had booster shots, is 1,404,580, which is 25.2% 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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