Minnesota Records 17 More COVID-19 Deaths

(FOX 9) – The Minnesota Department of Health reported 17 new deaths from COVID-19 Saturday as the state’s death toll from the disease rose to 869.

Minnesota also recorded more than 700 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of positive cases the state has seen so far to 20,573.

There are currently 553 people hospitalized for COVID-19, with 207 of them in the ICU–a new daily high. Approximately 13 percent of Minnesota’s COVID-19 cases have required hospitalization.

MDH has begun publicizing more COVID-19 data about health care workers. According to the latest report, 2,287 health care workers have tested positive for the coronavirus with 1,091 of them likely exposed on the job.

Approximately 69 percent of patients confirmed to have COVID-19 have now recovered and no longer need to self-isolate.

State and private labs reported 7,415 completed tests in a 24-hour period Thursday.

Last month, Gov. Tim Walz announced a “moonshot” project with the Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota to boost the state’s testing capacity to 20,000 tests per day within three to four weeks.