COVID-19: Olmsted County Social Distancing Limiting Transmission
Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - Several reports have ranked Minnesota at the top among the states when it comes to practicing safe social distancing and the data shows Olmsted County residents appear to be doing a significantly better job than the state as a whole.
Olmsted Public Health Information Officer Kari Etrheim says the testing and investigations conducted in Olmsted County since the start of the coronavirus pandemic have found about 20-percent of the local cases of COVID-19 have been the result of the community transmission of the new virus. That compares with the statewide average of around 30-percent from community transmission. Etrheim congratulated the community for its efforts but also stressed the need for continued vigilance in slowing the spread of the illness.
Approximately 7000 tests for COVID-19 have been conducted in Olmsted County since mid-March and about 2-percent of the individuals tested have been positive for the coronavirus. As of Monday, there have been 96 confirmed cases of the illness in Olmsted County and 2 deaths. Etrheim says the second death was reported over the weekend and involved an 87-year-old Rochester area resident who was already in hospice care when they contracted the infection.
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