Olmsted County Reports 24th COVID-19 Death

St. Paul, MN (KROC-AM News) - A death in Olmsted County was included in what Minnesota health officials hope was another one-day spike in coronavirus-related deaths.

The Minnesota Department of Health today reported 17 additional COVID-19 deaths statewide. It was the highest single-day death toll reported in the state since June 19th, when the health department also reported 17 deaths. The coronavirus-related death reported in Olmsted County today involved a person in their 80s and was the 24th COVID-19 death in the county since the beginning of the pandemic.

567 new COVID-19 infections were reported throughout Minnesota today, including 16 news cases in Olmsted County. The health department says the statewide testing total from yesterday was close to 35,000, but note that total includes a backlog of about 25,000 mostly negative test results dating back to April that were reported to the state on Tuesday. While the situation renders the daily positivity report meaningless, State Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm says the state continues to see its growth in testing outpace the growth in new cases detected.

The overall number of people hospitalized in Minnesota increased for a second straight day. The total of 321 reported today is 17 above the count from Tuesday is up 35 from Monday. ICU bed usage by COVID-19 patients fell by 2 to 152.

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