Eighty-two more people in the Northland have tested positive for COVID-19 and four more people have died as of Tuesday.
Two of the people who died from COVID-19 and its complications lived in St. Louis County. They were both in their early 90s, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. The county has now lost 198 lives to the illness.
Itasca County lost its 34th resident to COVID-19. The person was in their late 90s.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Service's reported the 15th death in Ashland County.
The 10-county region of the Northland hasn't recorded fewer than 100 new cases in a day since late October. However, the number of new case numbers could be skewed due a slowdown in testing over Christmas. The state's COVID-19 test sites were closed Dec. 24 and 25.
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Dana Kazel, the spokesperson for St. Louis County, including the public health division, said in an email to the News Tribune that it's hard to say with any certainty what the low numbers can be attributed to.
"It could be the testing site closure. Could also be a backlog in processing. But we’ve also been seeing a steady decrease in cases. So it could be any or all of the above."
New cases and seven-day averages in Northeastern Minnesota counties:
- Aitkin — 8; 5.9.
- Carlton — 1; 10.4
- Cook — 1; 0.6.
- Itasca — 14; 10.1.
- Koochiching — 0; 1.7.
- Lake — 0; 2.4.
- St. Louis — 39; 68.6.
- Ashland — 0; 5.1.
- Bayfield — 3; 4.9.
- Douglas — 16; 22.1
Minnesota reported 988 new cases and 36 more deaths Tuesday, while Wisconsin reported 2,384 new infections and 72 deaths.
The Minnesota Department of Health is now reporting daily data on vaccines. The state on Tuesday reported that 38,014 Minnesotans had received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. The vast majority of those people have received the Pfizer vaccine, while nearly 600 have received the Moderna vaccine.
Number of people in Northeastern Minnesota counties people who have received the vaccine:
- Aitkin, 134.
- Carlton, 415.
- Cook, 92.
- Itasca, 439.
- Koochiching, 70.
- Lake, 72.
- St. Louis, 2,778.
The state of Wisconsin reported Tuesday that 47,157 people have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Wisconsin does not break those numbers down by county.
This story was updated at 3:51 p.m. Dec. 29 with additional information from the Minnesota Department of Health and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. It was originally posted at 12:32 p.m. Dec. 29.
