Minnesota sees 645 new COVID-19 cases, 29 new deaths

Wednesday, the Minnesota Department of Health reported 645 new positive COVID-19 cases, moving the state total to 17,670 cases.

MDH also reported 29 new deaths, pushing the state’s total to 777 total deaths. Of that overall total, 635 have occurred in long-term care or assisted living facilities, according to MDH.

As of Wednesday, the state has completed 19,189 tests and private labs have completed 148,149 tests, MDH reported.

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According to MDH, 2,308 total cases have required hospitalization. Of that total, 550 remained in the hospital Wednesday with 212 in intensive care.

The department reports 12,227 patients no longer need to be isolated. MDH is now reporting that the number of patients who no longer need isolation represents individuals with confirmed COVID-19 who no longer need to self-isolate but no longer includes those who have died.

According to the Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering, the virus has infected about 4.9 million people worldwide and killed nearly 324,000.

More than 1.7 million people worldwide are recovering as of Wednesday.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, patients with confirmed COVID-19 have mild to severe respiratory problems, with symptoms of fever, cough and shortness of breath. Some patients report having muscle aches, headache, sore throat, and/or chills and shaking.

Note: According to the Minnesota Department of Health – "Because all data are preliminary, the change in number of cumulative positive cases and deaths from one day to the next may not equal the newly reported cases or deaths."