Here is the latest COVID-19 case rate data for Minnesota schools, by county

Coronaviruses research, conceptual illustration. Vials of blood in a centrifuge being tested for coronavirus infection.

(Mankato, MN) – County case rates, which are used to determine the learning delivery method Minnesota schools will use during the COVID-19 pandemic, have been updated.

This week’s Data for K – 12 Schools: 14-day COVID-19 Case Rate by County report covers the period from August 23 to September 5.

The latest report, released Thursday by the Minnesota Department of Health, indicates that six counties in the state have case rates of 50 or higher. Waseca was the sole county with a case rate 50 or above last week. Case rates are determined by the number of virus cases per 10,000 residents.

Here are MDH’s recommended policy options based on a 14-day case rate range:

0-9 cases per 10,000 residents: In-person learning for all students
10-19 cases per 10,000 residents: In-person learning for elementary students; hybrid learning for secondary students
20-29 cases per 10,000 residents: Hybrid learning for all students
30-49 cases per 10,000 residents: Hybrid learning for elementary students; distance learning for secondary students
50+ cases per 10,000 residents: Distance learning for all students

There are 24 counties in Minnesota with case rates in the 0 to 9 range, and 48 counties have case rates between 10 and 19. Six counties fall in the 20 to 29 case rate range, and three counties have case rates between 30 and 49.

The six counties with case rates of 50 or more are Blue Earth, Lyon, Waseca, Yellow Medicine, Stevens, and Winona.

On Thursday, Mankato Area Public Schools announced they would continue with hybrid learning despite a jump in Blue Earth County’s case rate from 44 to 57.

Here are the latest case rates in Southern Minnesota (numbers are rounded up):

Blue Earth – 57 (up from 44 last week)
Brown – 12 (up from 11 last week)
Cottonwood – 10 (down from 12 last week)
Faribault – 8 (down from 14 last week)
Fillmore – 3 (down from 4 last week)
Freeborn – 13 (up from 9 last week)
Jackson – 8 (down from 11 last week)
Le Sueur – 27 (down from 45 last week)
Lyon – 53 (up from 41 last week)
McLeod – 15 (down from 25 last week)
Martin – 18 (up from 13 last week)
Mower – 13 (unchanged from last week)
Murray – 12 (down from 13 last week)
Nicollet – 13 (down from 18 last week)
Nobles – 31 (down from 33 last week)
Redwood – 18 (up from 17 last week)
Renville – 16 (up from 10 last week)
Rice – 12 (down from 18 last week)
Sibley – 17 (down from 32 last week)
Steele – 19 (down from 16 last week)
Waseca – 73 (up from 58 last week)
Watonwan – 44 (down from 45 last week)