Minnesota reports 964 new COVID-19 cases, 7 more deaths Saturday

(FOX 9) - State health officials reported 964 new cases of COVID-19 and seven more deaths Saturday.

Minnesota has now seen a total of 472,791 COVID-19 cases since the first infection was reported in the state last March, according to the latest MDH data.

Walz: No lifting of business restrictions imminent, despite improving COVID numbers

Gov. Tim Walz is giving no indication that he'll move to lift Minnesota's coronavirus-related business restrictions soon, even as virus metrics plummet to their lowest levels in months.

The 964 newly reported cases were out of 30,817 tests—a 3.1% positivity rate. Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said Thursday the state’s rolling average test positivity rate is now 3.9%, the lowest it has been since June 27. Anything over 5% is a concern for MDH.

Death toll rises to 6,369

State health officials reported seven more deaths attributed to COVID-19 on Saturday, bringing the state’s death toll from the disease to 6,369.

Three of the deaths were people who lived in long-term care or assisted living facilities. Minnesota has now surpassed more than 4,000 COVID-19 deaths in long-term care or assisted living facilities.

Vaccine rollout continues

Over 30% of people age 65 and older in Minnesota have now received at least the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, the latest data from the state Department of Health shows.

Approximately 641,844 people in Minnesota have received at least the first dose of the vaccine and 209,010 people are fully vaccinated, which is roughly 14.4% and 4.2% of the state’s adult population respectively. Vaccination reporting lags by a few days.