Coronavirus infections are showing no signs of slowing down and the Northland continues to be no exception.
Carlton, St. Louis, Lake, Ashland and Douglas counties have all broken daily records of new diagnoses at least twice this week. Meanwhile, five more Northland residents have died from COVID-19.
Two were Carlton County residents. They were between ages 60 and 64 and 85 and 89, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. A total of residents in the county have now died from COVID-19.
Bayfield County and Ashland County each recorded another death, bringing their death tolls to three and four now.
One more St. Louis County resident has died as well, bringing the total to 77. The person lived in their home, according to the county's dashboard, and was between ages 80 and 84.
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Minnesota reported a total of 36 new deaths Friday and Wisconsin reported 62.
St. Louis County reported 190 new infections — 23 more than its previous record set Wednesday. The county's seven-day average of new cases is 99.1 new cases a day.
Forty-four more Carlton County residents have tested positive. Its previous high was also set Wednesday at 34. Over the last seven days, the county has experienced an average of 27.1 new cases a day.
Douglas County had 51 more people who have tested positive, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. It's 7-day average was 25.4 new cases a day. In Ashland County, another 21 people have tested positive raising the 7-day average to 11.6 new cases a day.
Nine more Lake County residents have tested positive, passing its Wednesday record by two. Lake County has had an average of 4.1 new cases a day in the last week.
New cases and seven-day averages in other counties:
- Aitkin — 15; 10.3.
- Itasca — 39; 24.3.
- Bayfield — 15; 14.1.
- Koochiching — zero; 3.
- Cook — zero; 1.9.
For the fourth day in a row, Minnesota soared past its record-high daily case total with 5,454 newly diagnosed infections. Completed diagnostic tests are up by more than 45,700. That brings the state's single-day testing positivity rate, meaning the percent of tests that come back positive, to 11.9%.
Statewide in Wisconsin, a total of 6,141 more people have tested positive and completed tests are up by 20,785. The state's single day positivity rate calculated to about 30% Friday. Over the last seven days the state has averaged a rate of 33%.
Health experts consider anything above 5% as "too high."
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This story was updated at 3 p.m. Nov. 6 with additional information from Wisconsin. It was originally posted at 11:53 a.m. Nov. 6.
