COVID-19 Activity Ticking Up Again in Olmsted County

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Rochester, MN (KROC AM News) - As is the case in other parts of Minnesota, COVID activity has been increasing in Olmsted County.

The latest numbers show the county recorded 171 positive cases in the week ending Oct 5th. That’s an increase of nine from the prior week. It’s also the second-highest weekly total to date. The highest of 212 was recorded three weeks ago.

Olmsted County Public Health Services suspects wide-spread community transmission continues in the Rochester area. Meanwhile, the county’s positivity rate remains at 4-percent. The state’s recommended rate is no more than 5-percent.

Through Oct. 7th, 69,584 Olmsted County residents had been tested for Covid.

The agency also reports a drop in the number of active clusters. Current figures show 62% of Olmsted County COVID-19 cases can be attributed to clusters. Households make up most of the clusters, both in number of clusters and number of cases. The latest numbers show Olmsted County has investigated 461 clusters and 41 remain active.

OCPHS also reports “Over the past two weeks we have seen a trend of increased cases between 15-19 and 60+ while the percentage of 20-24 year-olds was cut in half. Overall, 6.3% of cases have been hospitalized and the average number of cases in the hospital per day last week was 6.9 cases. Overall, 14.5% of cases have been asymptomatic.”

To date, the county’s highest daily total of positive cases is 41.

News update: State health officials advise against trick-or-treating this year.