Minnesota surpasses 4,000 deaths from COVID-19

(FOX 9) - Minnesota has surpassed 4,000 deaths from COVID-19 since the pandemic began, according to the latest data from the state health department.

Health officials reported 5,296 new cases of COVID-19 Monday and 21 more deaths. Minnesota has now seen a total of 356,152 COVID-19 cases and 4,005 deaths to date.

The 5,296 cases were out of a 63,573 completed tests—a positivity rate of 8.3%.

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Fifteen of the 21 newly reported deaths were in the Twin Cities metro area. Eight of the deaths were among residents of long-term care or assisted living facilities. Two of the people who died were in their late 50s. The rest were 60 or older.

Minnesota’s hospital numbers have been improving. Total hospitalizations for COVID-19 hit a peak of 1,862 on Nov. 29. As of Sunday, 1,567 people were hospitalized—a 16% decline in a week. Of the 1,567 people hospitalized for COVID-19, 362 were in the ICU.

Gov. Tim Walz will join Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm and MDH Infectious Disease Director Kris Ehresmann at a 2 p.m. news conference Monday to provide updates on Minnesota’s response to COVID-19. You can watch the news conference live on FOX 9 or streaming at fox9.com/live.