Today’s Covid-19 Update for Thursday, January 28 2021

Thursday’s COVID update from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) includes 1,335 new cases 16 deaths, including someone from Hennepin County aged 35-39. It marks the 45th COVID death of someone younger than 40 in Minnesota.

The newly reported deaths bring the state’s total to 6,140 over the course of the pandemic. Of those deaths, 63.4% (3,900) were residents of long-term care, including 12 of the 16 reported Thursday.

Through Jan. 26, the state reported that 320,347 people have received at least 1 dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, while 85,217 people have completed both doses of vaccine that are required for the vaccines’ full effect. MDH has a public dashboard to track vaccine progress in Minnesota, and you can view it here.

Two new variants of the coronavirus have been confirmed in Minnesota, including the first known case of the Brazil P.1 variant in the United States. That case involves a Minnesotan who recently traveled to Brazil. There are 8 confirmed cases of the B.1.1.7 variant. Both new strains are believed to be more transmissible.

The 1,335 positive results in Thursday’s update were from a total of 47,725 completed tests, creating a daily test positivity rate of 2.79%.

According to Johns Hopkins University, Minnesota’s test positivity rate over the past seven days is 4.21%, making it one of the lowest rates in the country.

The World Health Organization recommends that a percent positive rate (total positives divided by total completed tests) of below 5% for at least two weeks is necessary to safely reopen the economy.That 5% threshold is based on total positives divided by total tests.

Statwide:

• Total tests: 6,467,868 (up from 6,420,268)
• People tested: 3,233,070 (up from 3,220,489)
• Positive cases: 458,633 (up from 457,317)
• Deaths: 6,140 – 244 of which are “probable*” (up from 6,124)
• Patients no longer requiring isolation: 442,600 (up from 441,740)

Updated daily with data current as of 4 p.m. the previous day.