On May 6, 2021, Minnesota Governor Walz announced his plans to phase out of all restrictions by May 28. And, this included the elimination of the mask mandate by July 1 as soon as 70% of all Minnesotans 16 and older are vaccinated.
Effective May 28, capacity restrictions on indoor events will be lifted for bars and restaurants. Gyms, pools and fitness centers will be allowed to have 100% capacity. While all capacity limits will end on May 28, masks will still be required until July 1 for events that exceed 500 people, or until Walz sees 70% of Minnesotans 16 and older vaccinated.
According to the Minnesota COVID-19 Response website, accessible at www.mn.gov, more than 61% of Minnesotans age 16 and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
In Southeast Minnesota, the vaccinations numbers (as a percentage of population) started out strong but have not leveled off.
• Fillmore County – 47% fully vaccinated
• Houston County – 46.97% fully vaccinated
• Mower County – 40.35% fully vaccinated
• Olmsted County – 50.85% fully vaccinated
• Winona County – 41.97% fully vaccinated
Since worldwide tracking of COVID-19 began on January 23, 2020, there have been 160,450,504 total cases (up from 96,563,635 compared to 1/21/21 reporting) with 3,331,258 fatalities (up from 2,067,143 compared to 1/21/21 reporting) — 2.07% of total cases (down from 2.14% compared to 1/21/21 reporting).
In the United States, there have been 33,002,608 total cases (up from 24,433,486 compared to 1/21/21 reporting) resulting in 589,696 deaths (up from 404,812 compared to 1/21/21 reporting) — 1.79% of total cases.
Among Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin, there have been a combined total of 3,252,831 cases (up from 2,611,690 compared to 1/21/21 reporting) resulting in 49,189 deaths (up from 39,741 compared to two weeks ago) — 1.51% of total cases (down from 1.52% compared to 1/21/21 reporting). The percent of deaths per cases back on August 13, 2020 for the six state area was 1.84%.
Throughout the six state area, the percentage of deaths out of the total number of cases has maintained consistency in each of the six Midwest states over the past several months. Wisconsin continues to maintain the lowest rate in the six-state area.
• Iowa: 1.50% this week, 1.43% on 1/21/21
• Illinois: 1.81% this week, 1.88% on 1/21/21
• Minnesota: 1.24% this week, 1.34% on 1/21/21
• North Dakota: 1.41% this week, 1.46% on 1/21/21
• South Dakota: 1.61% this week, 1.58% on 1/21/21
• Wisconsin: 1.15% this week, 1.05% on 1/21/21
Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North Dakota have all reported COVID-19 positive cases in every county. South Dakota’s COVID-19 update still shows 10 counties without cases.
Within the Fillmore County Journal circulation area, the COVID numbers for all cities in our coverage area have been included with this article.
Look for more updates on COVID-19 results at www.fillmorecountyjournal.com/COVID-19.
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