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Minnesota health officials have confirmed 169 cases of COVID-19 in the state, but cautioned that the actual number of cases is likely 10 times that amount.

"Tenfold sounds like, 'Wow, that's a lot' — but it could be as high as 100-fold,” Kris Ehresmann, director for infectious diseases at the Minnesota Department of Health, said Saturday. “I think the bottom line is that there is a lot of COVID-19 circulating in Minnesota and that's why it's so important that people take the community mitigation measures seriously.”

Minnesota had its first confirmed coronavirus-related death over the weekend and five patients were hospitalized in intensive care as of Sunday as COVID-19 continued spreading among communities across the state.

In addition to the continued pleas for people to practice social distancing and stay home as much as possible, Ehresmann noted two key issues in a media briefing Sunday:

• Because many dental offices are closed, she said emergency rooms across the state are seeing more people coming in with dental emergencies. She called on Minnesota residents to reach out to their dentist in those cases, so they don’t take up space in ERs. She also asked dentists to make accommodations to provide emergency care.

• Ehresmann said there is a “desperate need” for blood donations in Minnesota, with many of the usual donation options (workplace blood drives, etc.) no longer available. She said donating blood is safe, and blood banks have taken steps to ensure social distancing.

The state health lab had processed 4,680 tests as of Sunday, and Mayo Clinic and other labs have processed additional tests. Mayo helped the state work through a backlog of 800 samples, Ehresmann said, and she believes Minnesota can keep its pace on testing priority patients in the coming days.

A concerning turn in the outbreak: COVID-19 is showing up in long-term care facilities and among health workers — who account for about one in five confirmed infections.

The state Health Department said at least one COVID-19 is from an assisted living situation, where there can be a high population of elderly and potentially vulnerable residents. They did not identify the facility.

Ehresmann said the coronavirus may also be moving through the health care system.

"We have seen some transmission in the health care setting, but the majority were based on travel,” she said. “We have 34 situations in which health care workers have been infected."

Therapists tap telehealth to connect with patients : Many mental health care providers have shut their doors to in-person visits to reduce the spread of coronavirus. Therapists and other providers have been forced to change the way they practice almost overnight.

Western Minnesota health care providers eye former prison for COVID-19 care facility: A private prison in western Minnesota that closed a decade ago is slated to reopen as a COVID-19 care center. Five health care providers in western Minnesota's Swift, Chippewa and Lac qui Parle counties are joining forces to set up at least a dozen hospital rooms in the former Prairie Correctional Facility. They're getting backing from the three counties.

Coronavirus spread in Minnesota forces North Shore resort owners to make tough decisions: As tourists consider heading up the North Shore, some full-time residents of the Arrowhead region are urging people from the Twin Cities and elsewhere not to visit, out of fear they may inadvertently bring the new coronavirus with them. Some on social media have even suggested a blockade of state Highway 61.

With buildings closed, Minnesota faith leaders stay connected with congregations: Churches, mosques, temples and synagogues across Minnesota are closed to slow the spread of the coronavirus. That means people of faith are facing new routines. So are faith leaders. Some will be preaching to empty sanctuaries or speaking from home, leading services for people watching on their phones and computers.

For some medical providers, P-P-E is being spelled D-I-Y: Hospitals across the country are pleading for masks and other medical supplies, and among those rising to the occasion are people who sew — including some here in Minnesota

— Cody Nelson and the rest of the MPR Newsroom

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