MPR News PM Update

Feb. 25, 2022

Minnesota's new COVID-19 cases are trending at their lowest point since August. Cases dipped below 1,000 Friday, reflecting the receding of the omicron variant, which tore through the state in the early weeks of 2022. 

Hospitalizations — including in ICUs — and deaths are declining as well. Hospitals around the state have been strained throughout the pandemic. But the prolonged delta wave in the fall of 2021 collided with the rise of omicron in Minnesota, with little break in between, causing staffing challenges unlike any they'd seen in earlier phases of the pandemic.

Declining case counts come as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention outlines a new set of measures around mask-wearing and social-distancing for communities where COVID-19 is easing its grip.

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