Minnesota reports 2,019 new COVID-19 cases, 66 deaths Wednesday

(FOX 9) - The Minnesota Department of Health reported 2,019 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and 66 more deaths from the disease.

Minnesota has seen 413,107 COVID-19 cases and 5,262 deaths since the first case was reported in the state in March. Nearly 95,000 of those cases and over 1,600 of the deaths were reported in December alone. 

To date, nearly 96% of the state’s COVID-19 cases have recovered to the point where the infected person no longer needs to be isolated. 

The 2,019 newly reported cases were on a volume of 25,729 completed tests—a 7.9% positivity rate. 

Of the 66 newly reported deaths, 26 were in the Twin Cities metro and 40 were in Greater Minnesota. The ages of those who died ranged from 39 to over 100 years old, according to Malcolm.  

Forty-three of the 66 people who died were residents of long-term care or assisted living facilities. Two lived in a group home or a residential behavioral health facility. 

Hospitalizations for COVID-19 continue to decline week-over-week in Minnesota. There are currently 926 people hospitalized with COVID-19, compared to 1,073 at this time last week. Of those 926 people in the hospital, 207 are in the ICU.

Vaccine data now updated daily 

This month, Minnesota received its first shipments of both the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccine and began administered the first of two doses to front line workers and long-term care residents. 

MINNESOTA'S COVID-19 PLAN: All health care workers, nursing home residents vaccinated by Jan. 31

MDH is now providing daily updates on how many people have been vaccinated. As of Wednesday, 38,284 vaccines have been administered in Minnesota.