Minnesota health officials report 8 more COVID-19 deaths, 414 new cases Tuesday

(FOX 9) - Eight more people have died from COVID-19 in Minnesota and more than 400 new cases have been confirmed across the state, the Minnesota Department of Health reported Tuesday. The state has now seen 70,707 cases of COVID-19 and 1,779 deaths. 

Approximately 90 percent of Minnesota’s coronavirus cases no longer require isolation. 

There were 414 positive COVID-19 cases out of 8,858 completed tests. Health commissioner Jan Malcolm said Tuesday the state’s current 7-day average positivity rate is 4.9 percent. 

Gov. Tim Walz announced Tuesday Minnesota has partnered with Vault Health, the nation's leading distributor of saliva testing, to build a new COVID-19 saliva testing lab in the state. The lab would more than double the state's testing capacity, which currently hovers between 20,000 and 22,000 tests per day. The lab is expected to be up and running by early October. 

Two of the eight COVID-19 deaths were residents of a long-term care facility. To date, approximately 74 percent of Minnesota's COVID-19 deaths have been patients that resided in long-term care or assisted living facilities. 

There are currently 312 people hospitalized with COVID-19, with 137 in the ICU. Approximately 9 percent of Minnesota's COVID-19 cases have required hospitalization. 

All 87 Minnesota counties have now seen at least three cases of COVID-19.

LIVE MAP: A county-by-county breakdown of Minnesota's COVID-19 cases

Data released Tuesday shows the 20-24-year-old age range has the highest percentage of COVID-19 cases with approximately 13 percent, followed by the 25-29-year-old age range has with 10 percent and the 30-34-year-old age range with 9 percent.