COVID deaths reported in Blue Earth, Faribault counties

There were 17 COVID-19 deaths reported by state health officials Friday, including two in Blue Earth County, and one in Faribault County.

Deaths reported on Friday included two from January 2021, and one from August 2021.

It’s the third consecutive day that a death has been reported in Blue Earth County, putting the county’s death toll at 51.  The deaths involved victims in their late 60’s and late 70’s, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.  In Faribault County, the death involved a person in their early 60’s.  The daily update shows a person in their early 30’s from McLeod County also died of the virus.  Friday’s deaths bring Minnesota’s death toll to 8,170.

There are 799 patients currently hospitalized with the coronavirus, according to a capacity report updated Friday.  That’s just shy of the 2021 record of 800, set earlier this week.  Intensive care hospitalizations are at 209, up slightly from the previous report.  ICU capacity in the south-central region is at about 17%, but the report shows the southeast, metro, and northeast regions are running short on staffed ICU beds as case numbers continue to climb.

MDH reported a total of 3,714 new cases on Friday, including 38 new infections in Blue Earth County, 29 in Freeborn County, 20 in Nicollet County, and 13 in Sibley County.