Minnesota reports 92 new COVID-19 deaths Wednesday as cases, hospitalizations decrease

Minnesota health officials reported 2,279 new cases of COVID-19 and 92 more deaths Wednesday. 

The 92 newly reported COVID-19 deaths are tied for the third-most deaths reported in a single day to date, according to Minnesota Department of Health data. A total of 4,575 Minnesotans have died from the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic. 

Thirty of the 92 newly reported deaths were in the Twin Cities metro while the rest were in Greater Minnesota. The deaths included one person in their 40s and two in their 50s. 

Fifty-four of the people who died were residents of long-term care or assisted living facilities and one was in a jail or prison. 

The number of newly reported COVID-19 cases decreased from Tuesday to Wednesday, however the 2,279 cases reported Wednesday were out of over 12,000 fewer tests—resulting in a positivity rate of 11.6%, the first time in over a week Minnesota has seen a daily positivity rate above 9%. 

There have been 386,412 cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Minnesota to date. Just over 30,000 of those are considered active cases that require the infected person to remain isolated.

Hospitalizations continued to decrease continued their downward trend, down nearly 32% since their peak over Thanksgiving weekend. There are currently 1,277 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Minnesota, 304 of whom are in the ICU, according to the latest MDH data. 

Gov. Tim Walz is expected to loosen some of the state’s COVID-19 restrictions on businesses Wednesday, reopening restaurants to outdoor dining and allowing youth sports to resume practices after the new year.

The governor will announce his new executive order during a 1:15 p.m. televised address. You can watch the speech live on FOX 9 and streaming at fox9.com/live