An additional 19 people have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total in Minnesota to 54, according to information released by the Minnesota Department of Health Monday.
About 1,893 people have been tested. The Health Department has to prioritize its testing and Kris Ehresmann, director of infectious disease prevention, stressed that if people are able to manage their symptoms at home, they do not need to be tested.
And if people are not in need of medical care, they don’t need to seek it, just because COVID-19 is circulating.
“Our recommendations for staying home are the same, regardless of whether or not someone has tested positive, and since there is no treatment for mild cases, there is no clinical decision that would be made based on the test result,” Ehresmann said Monday.
STAY HOME IF SICK
The most important safeguard is for people who are sick to stay home, Ehresmann said. For people who have coronavirus or are otherwise ill, they should be home for at least seven days and be fever free, without the assistance of medication, for at least three days.
Being able to have widespread testing is the goal, but “given the global, national demands … some of the materials that we need to be able to test are in short supply,” according to Ehresmann.
The Health Department is prioritizing testing for hospitalized patients and healthcare workers because “the result of the tests will have implications for our healthcare settings, both for staffing and for bed availability,” Ehresmann said.
With other states closing bars and restaurants, will Minnesota follow suit?
“We are in discussion with the governor’s office on that … that is something that we are having conversations about,” Ehresmann said Monday afternoon.
NO DEATHS IN MN
Minnesota has not had a death from COVID-19, but in countries that have been hardest hit, doctors have had to make decisions about who should get ventilators because hospitals have not had enough.
Ehresmann said they’re monitoring the number of intensive care unit beds and ventilators, though she said they’re not making the details public of how many there are in Minnesota.
“There is the ability to request additional supplies through a strategic national stockpile,” including ventilators, Ehresmann said.
METRO CASES CONTINUE TO RISE
Overall, Hennepin County — the most populous in the state — has been the hardest hit, with 10 new cases disclosed Monday, bringing the county to 22 total.
Ramsey and Dakota counties each have two new cases, for a total of 10 in Ramsey and five in Dakota. There was one new case reported in each of the following counties: Washington (total of two), Anoka (total of three), Olmsted (total of three), Blue Earth and Benton.
Ehresmann announced the first cases of community transmission on Sunday. Three people in Ramsey, Dakota and Hennepin counties were diagnosed who neither were in contact with someone known to be infected or had traveled outside Minnesota — meaning the virus was spreading locally.
“What that suggests is we know that there are cases that have occurred in the community that have not come to detection and so people should assume that COVID-19 is circulating in their communities and they should be taking the precautions that we are outlining,” Ehresmann said.
Of the 19 new cases, information has been gathered in nine of them and those cases did not represent community spread, Ehresmann said Monday afternoon. They are people who had traveled internationally or domestically.
In total, three people are hospitalized, including a person from Anoka County in critical condition and a Dakota County resident in their 90s who is in stable condition. The others were said to be recovering at home.
In the new cases, the patients are 21- to 71-years-old. Overall, the cases in Minnesota have involved people ranging from 17 to 94.
The Minnesota Department of Health hotline at 651-201-3920 took more than 1,500 calls Sunday.
Also Monday, Ehresmann said:
- As of last week, health officials were recommending that events of 250 or more be canceled or postponed, and now the new guidance is that events of 50 or more should be called off. Smaller events should not be held, unless social distancing of 6 feet per person is possible.
- Donating blood remains important. “We need to make sure that we have adequate numbers of healthy donors to prevent a blood shortage,” Ehresmann said. Blood banks are checking people’s temperature before allowing donations and they have set up social distancing in their facilities.
- People who 70 or older, or any age with underlying health conditions that put them at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19, should be limiting their involvements in social gatherings and travel.
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March 16, 2020 at 11:21PM
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Update: 19 additional coronavirus cases bring MN total to 54 - TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press
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