Minnesota reports 2nd child death from COVID-19

(FOX 9) - The Minnesota Department of Health reported 677 new COVID-19 cases and 11 more deaths Wednesday, one of whom was a child.

According to MDH, one of the newly-reported deaths included a child in Chippewa County between ages 5 and 9. Of the newly-reported deaths, seven were residents in long-term care facilities.

The 677 newly reported cases were out of 20,217 tests—a 3.3% positivity rate. Over the last seven days, Minnesota has averaged a 3.4% test positivity rate. Anything over 5% is a concern for MDH.

There have now been 469,905 COVID-19 cases confirmed in Minnesota since the first infection was reported in the state last March. Nearly 97% of the state’s cases have recovered to the point where the infected person no longer needs to be isolated from others.

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A total of 6,319 Minnesota have now died from COVID-19.

Meanwhile, at least 583,602 people in Minnesota have now received at least the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, or about 12.9% of the state’s adult population, state health officials reported.

The latest data from the Minnesota Department of Health shows that 168,495 people in the state are fully inoculated against COVID-19, or about 3.7% of the adult population. MDH’s vaccine data is accurate as of Feb. 8, as reporting lags by a few days.