West central Minnesota continues to see about 400 new cases of COVID-19 a week, according to state data

Linda Vanderwerf, West Central Tribune, Willmar, Minn.
·2 min read

Oct. 7—WILLMAR

— One death linked to COVID-19 and 401 new lab-confirmed cases were reported in the area in the last week of September, according to the

weekly situation update

released Thursday by the Minnesota Department of Health.

One death in Chippewa County was reported in west central Minnesota from Sept. 25 through Oct. 1. The 11-county area tracked by the West Central Tribune recorded about 10 fewer cases the week before. Stearns County accounts for 200 of the new cases, and Kandiyohi County reported 70 new cases.

The state's report of new cases is an under count, because at-home test results are not included.

In west central Minnesota, 17 people from area counties were hospitalized — 11 from Stearns, three from Kandiyohi; and one each from Big Stone, Pope and Redwood counties.

In June 2022, the department began providing a weekly update, replacing the daily updates that began in spring 2020.

The updates are released each Thursday at 11 a.m. and include data received as of 4 a.m. the preceding Tuesday. When the report refers to numbers from last week, it refers to information gathered from Sunday through Saturday the week before the information is released.

In all cases, the numbers in the updates are preliminary and may change as more information is received.

The state's current total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 is 13,325, an increase of 40 from the previous week's report.

New cases reported the week of Sept. 25 to Oct. 1 in the 11 counties tracked by the West Central Tribune:

* Big Stone, 7

* Chippewa, 29

* Kandiyohi, 70

* Lac qui Parle, 13

* Meeker, 21

* Pope, 14

* Redwood, 24

* Renville, 12

* Stearns, 200

* Swift, 5

* Yellow Medicine, 6

The state's cumulative number of cases is now 1,670,765, including reinfections. That's about 6,000 more new cases in the last week.

People who have tested positive for COVID-19 again more than 90 days after an initial lab-confirmed positive test are considered to have a reinfection.

The state reported 449 people hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Oct. 4 which is higher than in recent weeks. That includes 410 people hospitalized in non-ICU medical units, which is higher than the seven-day average of 374 people hospitalized. Another 39 were in intensive care units, where the seven-day average was 38.

The total number of people hospitalized has risen by 30 since last week. Hospitalizations have remained above 400 a day for most of the past five months.

The state also reports daily vaccine administration numbers. As of Thursday, 3,985,030 Minnesotans have received at least one dose and 3,758,507 have completed the vaccine series statewide.

The number of people up-to-date with their vaccines, meaning they have had recommended booster shots, is only 342,024.