Minnesota added 20 more deaths this week to the tally of fatalities health officials suspect were caused by COVID-19.
The state Department of Health has now identified 31 fatalities likely caused by COVID-19, but these are patients who did not have a positive coronavirus test. These are separate from the state’s death toll from confirmed cases, which stood at 1,249 as of Wednesday afternoon.
State health officials say the sudden increase in suspected COVID-19 deaths was the result of a regular review of death records by the Office of Vital Records. In order to officially be counted among the state’s coronavirus deaths a patient needs to have tested positive for the virus.
Death records reviewed by the Pioneer Press show that doctors and pathologists can record as many as four conditions that directly contributed to a person’s death. They can also list multiple underlying health conditions that also may have played a role.
About 97 percent of those who’ve died from COVID-19 had underlying health conditions that made them more susceptible to serious infections. Heart and lung disease and neurological conditions like Alzheimer’s disease were among the most common.
Deaths are listed as suspected to be caused by COVID-19 often because the patient was unable to get tested or health officials fear the results of a test were inaccurate.
The state Department of Health reported 13 more deaths Thursday known to be caused by COVID-19. Those who died ranged in age from their 50s to their 90s.
Minnesota now has 29,316 laboratory confirmed coronavirus infections, but health officials say the virus is likely more widespread. The 447 new infections reported Thursday was a five-day high, but the daily number of new cases has been on the decline overall since the beginning of June.
Health officials are closely monitoring trends in coronavirus infections, hospitalizations and deaths to see if the recent loosening of restrictions to slow the spread of infections, as well as mass protests over the death of George Floyd, will have an impact on the state’s outbreak.
Key indicators about the pandemic have largely been on the decline in recent days. Minnesota recently entered Phase 3 of its coronavirus response — most businesses are now allowed to reopen, albeit at a limited capacity.
Officials’ understanding of Minnesota’s coronavirus outbreak has become more clear largely thanks to ongoing increases in testing capacity. State officials reported the results of more than 12,000 tests Thursday, the second largest daily testing volume since local screening began in March.
Health officials are urging anyone with coronavirus symptoms to contact their health provider to get tested. Protesters who demonstrated after George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police have been recommended to get tested regardless of symptoms.
All of the tests results the state has been reporting daily are diagnostic tests that search for active coronavirus infections. Health officials haven’t yet begun to analyze the results of serologic tests that search for virus-fighting antibodies.
Kris Ehresmann, state infectious disease director, said that’s because many of the serologic tests have questionable accuracy. Researchers also don’t know what level of antibodies a person would need to have immunity from the coronavirus and how long that immunity would last.
State Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said state officials are confident in serologic tests being used by the University of Minnesota and Mayo Clinic. Those institutions have partnered with the state and other health care providers to widely expand screening with both diagnostic and serological tests.
Malcolm said in the coming weeks she hopes state health officials will be able to analyze the results of reliable serological tests to get a better idea of the extent of the coronavirus pandemic in Minnesota.