COVID death in Nicollet County; only 4 ICU beds remain open in South-Central MN

A COVID-19 death in Nicollet County was one of 15 reported by the Minnesota Department of Health Monday.

The person who died in Nicollet County was between 65 and 69-years-old, according to MDH. It’s the sixteenth death in the county, as Minnesota reaches a total of 3,593 deaths during the pandemic.

MDH says 1,840 people are hospitalized for COVID-19 as of Sunday, including 392 in intensive care. Minnesota has a total of 7,477 non-ICU beds, with 6,761 beds currently in use. ICU capacity in the state is nearly maxed out, with 1,122 beds in use out of 1,212 beds that are immediately available.

According to a Response and Capacity preparation report, only four ICU beds, or 17.4% of total capacity in the south-central portion of Minnesota are available, while nearly 25% (99 beds) of general, non-ICU beds remain available in the same region.

MDH also reported another 5,801 new virus cases, including 308 probable cases.

Here are the counties in Southern Minnesota reporting new cases:

Blue Earth – 38
Brown – 41 (2 probable)
Cottonwood – 25 (6 available)
Faribault – 15
Fillmore – 25
Freeborn – 23
Jackson – 8
Le Sueur – 19
Lyon – 42
Martin – 41
McLeod – 48 (1 probable)
Mower – 39
Murray – 8
Nicollet – 12 (4 probable)
Nobles – 10
Redwood – 30 (2 probable)
Renville – 28 (3 probable)
Rice – 59 (1 probable)
Sibley – 6 (1 probable)
Steele – 42
Waseca – 6
Watonwan – 9