Minnesota ICU capacity pressured as COVID-19 cases climb

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota hospitals are under pressure as COVID-19 cases reached another record high and hospitalizations continue to surge.

As of Wednesday, 98% of ICU capacity in the Twin Cities metro area and 92% of ICU beds statewide were in use as 887 patients were hospitalized with COVID-19, including 219 patients in intensive care.

Minnesota health officials reported 3,844 new cases of the coronavirus on Wednesday — breaking the record that was set just a day earlier. It’s the fourth time daily cases climbed over 3,000 in the past week.

The state also reported 31 deaths more deaths. Minnesota has now had more than 160,000 cases of coronavirus and 2,530 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

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