Olmsted County remains last in region with a reported high rate of COVID transmission

Randy Petersen, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
·2 min read

Jun. 3—ROCHESTER — Olmsted County appeared headed out of being an area of high COVID transmission earlier in the week, but the latest federal data keeps the county at the highest level of precaution.

The county remains the only one in Southeast Minnesota with a reported case rate above 200 per 100,000 residents, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

With more than 275 new confirmed cases in a seven-day period, Olmsted County's case rate is 205.32 per 100,000 residents.

CDC guidelines require the rate to drop below 200 to be considered as a potential area of medium transmission or lower.

Data appeared to show Olmsted County's rate dropped to 172 at one point during the week, down from 329 the week before. However, the weekly federal update on Thursday revealed the rate of decline was slower than anticipated.

Olmsted County also saw a slight drop in new COVID-related hospitalizations during a seven-day period, from 22 last week to 21 this week.

Elsewhere in the region, Goodhue and Houston counties remain listed as areas of low transmission, while Winona County — with a rate drop from 324.86 cases per 100,000 to 196.1 — joined the other counties in the medium category.

Case rates declined in all counties in the southeast corner of the state, with the exception of Houston County, which saw an approximately 4% increase in cases.

The last reported number of new confirmed cases in Houston County during a seven-day period was 32, with one related hospitalization.

Wabasha had the area's lowest reported case rate at 69.3 per 100,000 residents, down from 203.45 a week earlier.

Statewide, nine counties in the northern half of the state join Olmsted County as areas of high transmission, according to the latest CDC report. They are Aitkin, Cass, Cook, Crow, Hubbard, Koochiching, Lake, St. Louis and Wadena counties.