Feb. 2, 2021
Tonight will be mostly cloudy, with lows from 13 to 21. Tomorrow will be cloudy again, with highs in the upper 20s to lower 30s. Look for a mix of rain, freezing rain and snow starting Wednesday night and snow through Thursday evening with totals ranging from 1 inch up north to as much as 4 inches in east central and southeast Minnesota. Find the latest from Updraft. The rush for COVID-19 vaccines is giving scammers more opportunities. State authorities warned Minnesotans to be on guard today. Minnesota Department of Health infectious disease director Kris Ehresmann says that there are some clear signs of potential fraud. She said providers will never ask vaccine recipients for credit card, bank account or social security information. Offers to ship vaccine are fake, as are calls, emails or texts claiming to represent Medicare looking to make appointments. Ehresmann also said the vaccine is free, and isn't being sold by any legitimate providers. "If they say you can pay to get on a list to get vaccines, or get access to vaccines sooner, that's a scam." New COVID-19 cases fell to their lowest point in four months in data posted Tuesday by Minnesota health officials.
The state Health Department on Tuesday reported 633 newly confirmed or probable cases, and 8,327 known, active cases. Both are at their lowest point since late September, early October. Active cases are down more than 80 percent from late November when the count hovered around 50,000.
The numbers also continue to look good on hospitalizations — 394 Minnesotans were hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Monday, with 84 needing intensive care. Those ICU cases are at their lowest point since Sept. 19.
Eight newly reported deaths raised Minnesota’s toll to 6,210.
You can get more of the latest news, in just a few minutes, via the Minnesota Today podcast. — Tim Nelson | MPR News | 
