Minnesota Coronavirus: Confirmed Cases Cross 1,600; 6 More Deaths

More than 1,600 cases of the new coronavirus have been confirmed in Minnesota as of Sunday morning and six more Minnesotans have died from the illness, according to the latest figures released by the Minnesota Department of Health.

The confirmed cases — 1,621 — mark an increase of nearly 200 confirmed cases from Saturday and the total number of deaths in the state now stand at 70. Over 37,000 tests for COVID-19 have been conducted in Minnesota both at the state's public health lab and at private labs.

As of Sunday, 157 patients are hospitalized due to COVID-19 and 74 patients are in the intensive care unit.

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Overall, 361 patients in Minnesota have required hospitalization. The health department also reports that 842 COVID-19 patients no longer need to be isolated.

Hennepin County has the most number of cases in the case with 557 confirmed illnesses and 34 deaths. Ramsey County has the second highest number of confirmed cases (152 cases and 6 deaths), Olmsted County has the third highest number of cases with 143 confirmed illnesses and 2 deaths. Dakota County follows with 95 cases and 4 deaths and Anoka County has 68 cases.

On Friday, state officials shared insights from a model that is specific to Minnesota and predicts a mid-July peak for the disease. The Minnesota-specific model shows that demand for intensive care unit beds will peak on July 13 while the number of infections will peak two weeks prior to that. Those projections are based on the scenario that the stay-at-home order is extended until May 8, which most closely matches the current scenario as the stay-at-home order is in place until May 4.

Below are some key insights provided by officials on what the model predicts:

• The pandemic is expected to a have long-term impact on Minnesotans because of how easily the virus spreads and how fatal it is.
• Social distancing policies and guidelines will lead to a later peak of cases, hospitalizations, and ICU care.
• Reducing the rate of infection enough to "flatten the curve" – to spread out the number of cases over a longer period of time – requires long-term social distancing measures, but that would also make the epidemic last longer

SEE ALSO:

• Coronavirus: Mayo Clinic Announces Furloughs, Pay Cuts
• State Model Shows Mid-July Coronavirus Peak In Minnesota