MDH officials: ‘Light at the end of the tunnel growing brighter every day,’ vigilance with COVID-19 still needed
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During the state’s regularly scheduled COVID-19 briefing on Thursday, Minnesota Department of Health officials said there are numerous reasons to feel good about the direction the state is heading with the coronavirus pandemic.
"The light at the end of the tunnel is growing brighter every day thanks not only to the rising number in vaccinations, but also to the hard work of so many people across Minnesota," Kris Ehresmann, MDH Infectious Diseases director, said.
According to Ehresmann, case growth in the state is continuing to decline. MDH Commissioner Jan Malcolm said the state’s seven-day positivity rate is currently at 3.9%, which is below the caution category. Ehresmann said hospitalizations are also declining.
While the state is still in need of more vaccines, Ehresmann said the state is making progress by "getting vaccines into arms." As of Thursday, more than 777,000 Minnesotans have received at least one vaccine dose.
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FILE - This undated electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus causes COVID-19. The sample was isolated from a patient in the U.S. On Tuesday, April 21, 2020, U.S. health regulators OK'd the first coronavirus test that allows people to collect their own sample at home, a new approach that could help expand testing options in most states. The sample will still have to be shipped for processing back to LabCorp, which operates diagnostic labs throughout the U.S.[NIAID-RML via AP]
While Ehresmann and Malcolm spoke of promising developments, they urged Minnesotans to continue using caution and following guidelines.
"Until we finally reach that goal of crushing COVID, we all need to keep our guard up," Ehresmann said.
The discovery and spread of new coronavirus variants is one of the areas Ehresmann pointed to when speaking of the need of continuing to use caution.
At this time, there are 18 cases of the U.K. variant that have been detected in Minnesota and two cases of the Brazilian variant.
Malcolm said the presence of the variants puts the state in a "race against time" to get as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible.
The commissioner added that equitable and ethical decisions around the distribution of the vaccine will remain critical to the state.
"The vaccine distribution strategy for the state is to meet people where they are and make it as easy as possible for people to get vaccinated as those supplies build," Malcolm said.