Name: Early test results show few protesters caught COVID-19
Brand: twincities.com
SKU: twincities-com-36
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

Early test results show few protesters caught COVID-19

preview

By | | Pioneer PressEarly data from coronavirus tests of Minnesotans who participated in demonstrations after the death of George Floyd suggest the mass gatherings may not result in a spike in COVID-19 infections.More than 3,300 people who participated in protests and community events after Floyd’s death were tested for the coronavirus this week at four community testing sites. Floyd died on Memorial Day after Derek Chauvin, at the time a Minneapolis police officer, knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.Results from about 40 percent of the coronavirus tests done in St. Paul and Minneapolis this week show 1.4 percent of participants who were tested had contracted COVID-19. Health officials are awaiting the rest of the test results and are encouraging anyone who participated in mass gatherings to get tested — regardless of symptoms.The 1.4 percent positivity rate is lower than the 3.7 positivity rate of the more than 13,000 test results reported Friday. It is lower than the current seven-day average rate of positive tests, which is also 3.7 percent.Kris Ehresmann, state Department of Health director of infectious disease, said there were not enough results to draw firm conclusions about the impact of the mass gatherings on Minnesota’s coronavirus outbreak. She said the rate is expected to be somewhat lower than other large-scale testing because there wasn’t initial evidence that a lot of the people who attended the protests were already sick and would spread the coronavirus.“Our testing is a bit pre-emptive, if you will,” Ehresmann said. “It is a different situation.”State health officials hope to test more attendees of mass gatherings in the coming weeks to see how the events impact the outbreak. There is limited availability on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at the sites in the Twin Cities.Other information about testing can be found at .The Minnesota Department of Health reported another 25 fatalities Friday caused by COVID-19 and 479 more laboratory-confirmed infections. That brings the state total to 1,274 deaths and 29,795 cases statewide.There are 25,028 patients who’ve recovered enough that they no longer need to be isolated. There are 403 people sick enough to need hospital care, with 191 in critical condition.Twenty-two of those whose deaths were reported Friday were residents of long-term care. They ranged in age from their 60s to their 90s.About 80 percent of the Minnesotans who’ve died of COVID-19 have been residents of congregate care settings like nursing homes, assisted living and rehabilitation centers.Ehresmann and Jan Malcolm, state health commissioner, said that while the toll on long-term care facilities continues to be deeply concerning, the state is making progress on its efforts to lessen the impact.About 9 percent of the facilities have serious outbreaks, Ehresmann said. More than half of the facilities with cases only have one or two residents or staff who are infected.About 30 percent of facilities that have reported an infection since the outbreak began have not had a case in four weeks.With the help of the Minnesota National Guard, health officials have tested all the residents and staff at more than 200 facilities. The state Department of Health’s goal is to eventually test every long-term care center in the state.We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. We reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.Sign up for Newsletters and AlertsFollow UsMost PopularClose

By | | Pioneer PressEarly data from coronavirus tests of Minnesotans who participated in demonstrations after the death of George Floyd suggest the mass gatherings may not result in a spike in COVID-19 infections.More than 3,300 people who participated in protests and community events after Floyd’s death were tested for the coronavirus this week at four community testing sites. Floyd died on Memorial Day after Derek Chauvin, at the time a Minneapolis police officer, knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.Results from about 40 percent of the coronavirus tests done in St. Paul and...

public

Christopher Magan

Twin Cities news, sports, politics, entertainment and business from the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Minnesota's first newspaper.

Early test results show few protesters caught COVID-19

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS