The 10-county region of the Northland logged fewer confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths in the last week than it did the week before, but the number of cases is still more than threefold what it was six weeks ago.
Fewer cases don't necessarily mean transmission of the virus has slowed down. Any impact holiday gatherings have on the pandemic won't be known for about a week still, according to St. Louis County Public Health, as previously reported by the News Tribune .
While the Northland recorded around 100 fewer cases during the week of Nov. 27 through Dec. 3, four counties did log record-high weeks of new cases. But that's a relatively low number of counties compared to the last several weeks.
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The most substantial increase was in Cook County, which logged 20 new cases since Friday, Nov. 27. That's about a 50% increase from its previous weekly record. The increase for the other counties — St. Louis, Ashland and Koochiching — ranged between 1-4%.
Thirty-two Northland residents were reported in the last week to have died, 13 of whom lived in St. Louis County.
The number of deaths logged in the last week in other counties:
- Bayfield — 6
- Douglas — 5
Carlton — 3
Lake — 2.
Aitkin, Itasca and Koochiching counties each had one death reported in the last week.
St. Louis County
More than 1,600 St. Louis County residents were reported to have tested positive in the last week. More than 900 — 56% — live in southern St. Louis County ZIP codes, including Duluth, Hermantown, Proctor and Saginaw, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.
New cases in other ZIP codes in the last week:
- Hibbing — 103.
- Virginia — 77.
- Chisholm — 50.
- Cook —24.
- Biwabik — 22.
- Eveleth, Ely — each with 16.
Carlton County
Carlton County logged 351 more people who have tested positive. About 34% of those people — or 121 — live in Cloquet's ZIP code.
New cases from the last week in other ZIP codes:
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- Carlton — 55.
- Moose Lake — 40.
- Esko — 37.
- Barnum — 23.
- Wrenshall — 14.
- Cromwell — 8.
- Kettle River, Wright — each logged 7.
Carlton County leads the Northland in the most confirmed cases per 10,000 residents, both since the pandemic began and in just the last week.
