Minnesota reports 919 new COVID-19 cases, 15 deaths Wednesday

Nearly 61% of eligible Minnesotans have received at least a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and about 50% are fully vaccinated, the latest state health department data shows.  

Minnesota has administered over 4.6 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to date.  

The county by county vaccination rates range from 36% of Minnesotans age 16 and older with a first dose in Benton County in central Minnesota to 79% in Cook County in the northeastern part of the state. In the state’s two largest counties, Hennepin and Ramsey, 70% and 68% respectively.  

Gov. Tim Walz has pledged to end Minnesota's statewide indoor mask mandate once the state reaches a 70% vaccination rate or by July 1, whichever comes first. 

Meanwhile, MDH reported 919 new COVID-19 cases and 15 more deaths on Wednesday, one of which was in a long-term care facility. Minnesota has seen 590,436 COVID-19 cases and 7,255 deaths attributed to the disease since the pandemic began.  

The 919 newly reported cases were out of 21,351 tests, a 4.3% positivity rate. Minnesota’s seven-day rolling average positivity rate, a lagging indicator, is at 5.9%. Anything over 5% is a concern for MDH.  

Eight of the 15 deaths reported on Monday were in the seven-county Twin Cities metro. Three of the people who died were under the age of 65.