WILLMAR — The number of new confirmed cases of COVID-19 remained steady and hospitalizations dropped in the area, according to the weekly situation update released Thursday by the Minnesota Department of Health.
The 11 counties tracked by the West Central Tribune reported 129 confirmed cases from March 26 through April 1. Stearns County, the largest in the area, reported 90 new cases.
No deaths related to COVID-19 were reported in the area.
Six people were reported hospitalized from area counties — four from Stearns and one each from Kandiyohi and Meeker counties.
The state's report of new cases is an undercount, because at-home test results are not included.
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In all cases, the numbers in the updates are preliminary and may change as more information is received.
The state’s current death toll attributed to COVID-19 is 14,624, an increase of 40 from last week's report and an average of about six deaths a day.
The state's cumulative number of cases is 1,788,745, including reinfections. New cases in the past week totaled 2,051, an average of 293 new cases a day. The daily average is 54 lower than in the previous state update.
People who have tested positive for COVID-19 again more than 90 days after an initial lab-confirmed positive test are considered to have a reinfection.
New cases reported in the area last week: Big Stone, 2; Chippewa , 1; Kandiyohi , 11; Lac qui Parle , 0; Meeker , 6; Pope , 5; Redwood , 3; Renville , 7; Stearns , 90; Swift , 3; Yellow Medicine , 1.
The state reported 233 people hospitalized with COVID-19, as of April 4. That includes 211 people hospitalized in medical units, one higher than the week before, and another 22 in intensive care units, four more than the week before.
Hospitalizations had a seven-day average of 23 in ICUs and 208 in medical units. The daily averages are slightly lower in both categories.
As of April 4, 4,011,207 Minnesotans, 72.1%, have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine , and 68.1% of the state's population, 3,786,665 people, have completed the vaccine series.
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The number of people listed as being up-to-date with their vaccines, meaning they have had booster shots, is 1,399,095, which is 25.1% of Minnesotans. For ages 6 months through 4 years, up to date means a complete primary series. For ages 5 and older, up to date means a complete primary series and a bivalent booster dose when due.
In June 2022, the department began providing a weekly update, replacing the daily updates that began in spring 2020. The updates are released each Thursday at 11 a.m. and include data received as of 4 a.m. the preceding Tuesday.
When the report refers to numbers from last week, it refers to information gathered from Sunday through Saturday the week before the information is released.
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