COVID-19 deaths reported in Blue Earth, Watonwan, Nobles counties

(St. Paul, MN) – There were eight new COVID-19 deaths reported by the Minnesota Department of Health Friday, five coming from counties in southern Minnesota.

One of the deaths was the sixth in Blue Earth County, and involved a patient in their 50’s.  Two deaths in Nobles County involved residents in their 80’s, marking the county’s eighth and ninth deaths.  Watonwan reported its second death in as many days, but information about the patient wasn’t available.

Minnesota’s death toll now stands at 1,693.

MDH reported 738 new confirmed positive cases of the virus, an uptick from yesterday’s 697 cases.

Here are the latest reported cases in southern Minnesota counties:

Blue Earth – 13
Brown – 1
Cottonwood – 2
Faribault – 1
Fillmore – 1
Freeborn – 4
Jackson – 2
Le Sueur – 8
Lyon – 1
Martin – 3
McLeod – 15
Mower – 6
Nicollet – 6
Nobles – 4
Rice – 2
Sibley – 1
Steele – 7
Waseca – 3
Watonwan – 17

There are five more people hospitalized today than yesterday, a total of 313.  The intensive care unit count is down by two, for a total of 152 patients in ICU.