Perhaps the biggest COVID-19 news this week relates to the likely coming federal decision to allow seniors and those at higher risk to obtain a second bivalent booster. Those who received the updated vaccine when it was first made available in late August are well past the initial four months of peak protection.  

The policy change may not be of interest to many since uptake of the bivalent booster has been relatively tepid. Only 17 percent of Americans, including 26 percent of Minnesotans, have taken advantage of the bivalent booster according to the latest CDC data.  

Rates are notably higher, however, among those who are at increased risk of hospitalization or death due to COVID-19. To date, 42 percent of Americans 65 or older have received a bivalent shot, including 64 percent of Minnesotans 65 or older — the nation’s third highest rate. Thus, the opportunity to re-up the bivalent vaccine may be particularly welcome among older Minnesotans. 

In other news, many of Minnesota’s health systems are easing masking requirement for patients and staff. As our colleague Michelle Wiley reported yesterday, in some cases this means that patient masking is now optional or will become so within days. 

While many Minnesotans remain vulnerable to COVID-19, the latest data does suggest that conditions vis-à-vis the pandemic are at least as good if not better than they have been for months. 

Three things to know from the latest data about COVID-19 in Minnesota: 

1. Officially reported COVID-19 cases are lower than they have been since July 2021, and hospitalizations remain lower than they have been since last April. 

2. Wastewater data shows month-over-month declines in COVID levels in most parts of the state, with the exception of South Central Minnesota. 

3. The CDC’s Community Level ratings signal low risk in all but two south-central Minnesota counties (Faribault and Freeborn). 

A continued decline in COVID-19 cases and similar levels of hospitalizations and deaths as reported last week 

The daily average of new COVID-19 cases reported dropped below 300 for the first time since July 2021, according to Thursday’s Minnesota Department of Health weekly data release. While this is an under-report, since positive at-home tests generally do not show up in the Department’s official statistics, it is a continuation of the decreasing case counts seen in recent weeks. 

The average number of Minnesotans newly admitted to the hospital each day with COVID-19 climbed for the week ending March 30 — but only by one. This week’s daily average of 31 admissions per day, including four to intensive care units (ICUs), is lower than reported by the health department since last April. 

Mortality data takes longer to confirm, but for the most recent week with complete data Minnesota was still losing six people per day to COVID-19. The daily average has stubbornly hovered between five and 10 deaths per day since May, when fewer Minnesotans were dying from COVID-19. 

Wastewater data shows COVID-19 levels falling in most of the state — but not the South Central region 

The total level of COVID-19 virus in Twin Cities wastewater increased by three percent for the week ending April 3 compared to the previous week, according to the latest data from the Metropolitan Council and the University of Minnesota’s Genomic Center. 

While this is the second week of small increases in COVID-19 measurements they add, “These levels remain lower than they have been at any time since early April 2022, at the start of the BA.2 wave.”

A parallel wastewater testing effort, the University of Minnesota’s Wastewater SARS-CoV2 Surveillance Study, shows COVID levels dropping month-over-month in six of seven Minnesota regions during an earlier period, ending March 22. That study also shows notable weekly increases in three regions.  

This most recent data from The SARS-CoV2 Surveillance Study’s raises concerns for Minnesota’s South Central region, which includes five treatment plants located in Blue Earth, Le Sueur, McLeod and Nicollet counties that collectively serve a population of about 69,000. COVID levels measured in the wastewater in this region doubled in the week ending March 22. 

Faribault and Freeborn are the only non-green counties in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID-19 Community Level assessment for Minnesota this week. While the rest of the state receives a low risk rating, these two counites are rated medium risk — meaning that at-risk populations are encouraged to take precautions.  

Notably, the CDC’s county-level transmission map lists exactly zero counties as meeting the high transmission threshold of at least 100 cases per 100,000 and only 18 in the “substantial” transmission range (50 to 99 cases per 100,000).  

For additional information see the COVID in Minnesota Key data page; new data is added throughout the week.