Coronavirus Thursday update: 14 more Minnesota deaths and 928 new infections – TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press

For the first time in months Minnesota has fewer than 300 patients requiring hospital care for COVID-19 as the states coronavirus outbreak continues to show signs of being under better control.

As of Wednesday, the state Department of Health reported 287 Minnesotans hospitalized with COVID-19 including 54 in critical condition. However, the state is still struggling with some hospital capacity issues including in the Twin Cities metro where just 3 percent of regular hospital beds were available.

Hospitals need both the staff and the space to have the capacity to care for patients. While COVID-19 hospital admissions have declined significantly, other types of admissions have quickly filled the gaps and many hospitals have remained near capacity.

Minnesota added 14 more COVID-19 fatalities Thursday and another 928 infections were reported by the state Department of Health.

The death toll has reached 6,404 with the latest deaths ranging in age from their early 30s to their late 90s. Eight lived in long-term care and six in private homes.

The state has now diagnosed 476,292 cases of coronavirus since March 2020. Of those, 463,041 have recovered enough they no longer need to be isolated.

Since the outbreak began, 25,341 people have needed hospital care and 5,230 have been admitted to the intensive care unit.

Minnesota has administered 975,626 doses of coronavirus vaccine. There are more than 710,000 whove received at least one dose and 264,122 who have gotten both shots.

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, the only two currently with federal emergency approval, both require two doses, spaced between three and four weeks apart, for the best immune system response.

More than 325,000 of the states estimated 919,000 seniors have gotten at least one dose of vaccine. Health officials said they hope all of the states residents 65 and older will have a chance to be vaccinated by the end of March.

It will likely be summer before vaccine is widely available to the general public.

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Coronavirus Thursday update: 14 more Minnesota deaths and 928 new infections - TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press