Latest on COVID-19 in MN: Vaccinations, hospitalizations rising - Minnesota Public Radio News

Hospital admissions, active caseload trends hovering at winter levels ; health officials say virus variants likely are driving increase in new cases.

About 32.5 percent of Minnesota adults are completely vaccinated; 47.7 percent have received at least one vaccine dose, including about 84 percent of residents age 65 and older, the state Health Department said Tuesday.

The state on Tuesday reported 676 people in Minnesota hospitals with COVID-19; 159 needed intensive care, hovering near the highest number of ICU patients since early January.

COVID-19 variant, which state health officials suspect is driving the current upswing.

To date, the state has confirmed at least 1,600 cases of the U.K.

Minnesota Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said recently that while the increase in cases is concerning, the growing number of vaccinated people in Minnesota means the state likely won’t see as steep a surge in cases of the scope seen in November and December.

The state has recorded 545,404 total confirmed or probable cases so far in the pandemic, including 1,367 posted Tuesday.

On Monday, the state reported a new outbreak associated with a youth wrestling tournament.

The state has linked at least 16 cases to the Northland Youth Wrestling Association State Wrestling Tournament in Sioux Falls, S.D., between March 31 and April 3.

The tournament drew 2,000 wrestlers in addition to spectators and Minnesota health officials say there was lax masking and social distancing at the event.

The number of high school-age youth confirmed with the disease has also grown, with more than 43,000 total cases among those ages 15 to 19 since the pandemic began.

A new outbreak of COVID-19 associated with a youth wrestling tournament has state health officials asking schools around Minnesota to double down on masking and testing.

The state has linked at least 16 cases to the Northland Youth Wrestling Association State Wrestling Tournament in Sioux Falls, S.D., between March 31 and April 3.

The tournament drew 2,000 wrestlers in addition to spectators and Minnesota health officials say there was lax masking and social-distancing at the event.

Nine Minnesota counties, including Cass, Le Sueur, Lyon, Morrison, Murray, Rice, Todd, Wright and Yellow Medicine have confirmed cases.