WORTHINGTON — Cottonwood County reported its 29th COVID -related death involving a resident between the ages of 80 and 84. The death was included in Monday’s update by the Minnesota Department of Health, with no other details reported.
Meanwhile, another 6,583 Minnesota residents tested positive for COVID-19 between Friday and Monday. The new cases included 23 residents of Rock County, 19 residents of Nobles County, 14 residents of Murray County, 12 residents of Cottonwood County, 11 residents of Jackson County, and six residents of Pipestone County.
Since the virus was first detected in Minnesota, 8,581 residents have reportedly died from its complications — including 4,736 individuals residing in long-term care or assisted living facilities. Meanwhile, there have been 779,749 confirmed and probable positive cases of the virus in the state, with 753,961 of those individuals no longer isolating.
Among Minnesota’s health care workers, 49,197 individuals have tested positive for the virus thus far.
Following is current data on the virus in the far corner of southwest Minnesota:
ADVERTISEMENT
Nobles County: 4,849 cases; 4,682 recovered; 52 deaths; 65.7% of residents aged 12 and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
Cottonwood County: 1,985 cases; 1,883 recovered; 29 deaths; 60.9% vaccinated.
Jackson County: 1,486 cases; 1,414 recovered; 15 deaths; 56.1% vaccinated.
Murray County: 1,370 cases; 1,278 recovered; 11 deaths; 60.6% vaccinated.
Pipestone County: 1,339 cases; 1,286 recovered; 27 deaths; 55.2% vaccinated.
Rock County: 1,581 cases; 1,508 recovered; 19 deaths; 56.2% vaccinated.
MDH continues to track outbreaks in schools and long-term care facilities in the state, with information updated weekly on Thursdays. As of Oct. 21, Heron Lake-Okabena Secondary, Fulda Elementary, Murray County Central Elementary and Murray County Central Secondary in Slayton, Prairie Elementary and Worthington Middle School in Worthington, Hills-Beaver Creek Elementary in Hills and Luverne Senior High have outbreaks (five or more positive cases of the virus).
Also, long-term care facilities with current outbreaks as reported Oct. 21 include the Good Samaritan Society in Mountain Lake and Jackson, Lakeview Assisted Living in Heron Lake, Colonial Manor and Valley View Assisted Living in Lakefield, Crossroads Care Center in Worthington, Edgebrook Care Center in Edgerton, and Tuff Memorial Home in Hills.
ADVERTISEMENT
All Minnesota residents aged 12 and older are eligible for the coronavirus vaccine. The Nobles County Public Health department encourages all eligible individuals to seek vaccination. Private providers in Worthington include Access Family Medical Clinic/Avera Medical Group, Hy-Vee Pharmacy, Sanford Health, Sterling Drug and Walgreens. Contact Nobles County Public Health at 295-5213 if interested in receiving a vaccine or if you have questions regarding receiving a vaccine.
On Monday, the Iowa Department of Health reported 519,922 positive cases of COVID-19 since testing began, with 6,542 of those cases reported within the last seven days. Thus far, 6,848 deaths are blamed on the virus in the state. As of Monday, 521 individuals were hospitalized with complications from COVID-19, with another 128 patients in Intensive Care Units in the state. Of those patients in ICU, 78.7% were not fully vaccinated against the virus, while 70.3% of hospitalized individuals were not fully vaccinated.
In northwest Iowa, the number of positive cases in the last seven days, along with the percentage of fully vaccinated residents aged 12 and older are as follows:
Dickinson County: 30 cases; 60.5% fully vaccinated.
Lyon County: 23 cases; 45.2% fully vaccinated.
Osceola County: 23 cases; 48.5% fully vaccinated.
Johns Hopkins University reports a nationwide cumulative total of 45,552,615 positive cases of COVID-19 as of 9 a.m. Tuesday, with 2,430,281 of those cases reported in the last 28 days. Thus far, 737,526 Americans have died from the virus, including 45,908 people in the last 28 days.
The Minnesota Department of Health continues to ask people to stay home if they have symptoms of COVID-19 and/or are awaiting test results, and to practice universal precautions including washing hands with soap (for 20 seconds), social distancing, and avoiding crowded or confined spaces.
As a public service, we’ve opened this article to everyone regardless of subscription status. If this coverage is important to you, please consider supporting local journalism by clicking on the subscribe button in the upper right-hand corner of the homepage.
