Four more people have died of COVID-19 in Minnesota, health officials reported Saturday, as the state saw a big one-day jump in confirmed cases.
The Minnesota Department of Health reported a net increase of 804 new coronavirus infections, according to a data release on Saturday morning.
The one-day increase continued a recent trend of growing counts in new daily cases, and was one of the largest in Minnesota since May. The increase came on a volume of about 16,087 completed tests, however, which is significantly higher than daily test tallies in May.
Residents of long-term care and assisted-living facilities accounted for all four of the newly announced deaths. Statewide, the pandemic's toll reached 1,499 deaths.
The latest numbers show 241 patients were hospitalized, compared with 227 on Friday; 121 patients required intensive care, compared with 124 on Friday. Daily tallies for hospitalized patients in Minnesota have been trending down or holding steady in recent weeks.
COVID-19 is a viral respiratory illness caused by a new coronavirus that surfaced late last year. Since the first case was reported in Minnesota in early March, 4,366 people have been hospitalized.
People at greatest risk from COVID-19 include those 65 and older, residents of long-term care facilities and those with underlying medical conditions.
Those health problems range from lung disease and serious heart conditions to severe obesity and diabetes. People undergoing treatment for failing kidneys also run a greater risk, as do those with cancer and other conditions where treatments suppress immune systems.
Numbers released Saturday show health care workers have accounted for 4,016 cases statewide. A total of 36,012 Minnesotans who were infected with the novel coronavirus no longer need to be in isolation, an increase of more than 500 people at Friday's data release.
As has been true for several weeks, confirmed cases have been reported in 86 of the state's 87 counties, with no cases in Lake of the Woods County in far northern Minnesota.
Most patients with COVID-19 don't need to be hospitalized. The illness usually causes mild or moderate sickness and many lack symptoms.
Numbers published Saturday morning cover the 24-hour period ending at 4 p.m. Friday.
Christopher Snowbeck • 612-673-4744
