Yesterday the Minnesota authorities attributed five new deaths to COVID-19. Two of the five new deaths occurred among residents of long-term care facilities. For the first time since mid-April, we have had deaths in the single digits over the past four days.
The total of deaths attributed to the epidemic is now 1,397. Of these, 1,102 occurred among LTC residents. LTC deaths now make up 79 percent of the total. Although the rationale for his shutdown orders has long since dissipated, Governor Walz continues to wield his emergency powers over the entire state.
The Minnesota Department of Health is holding its daily press briefings on a Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule this week. Yesterday MDH Infectious Disease Division Director Kris Ehresmann conducted the briefing by herself (audio below). Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm was otherwise engaged.
MDH has ceased providing the median age of decedents. When they last publicly provided it on the MDH Situation Update site, the median age of decedents was 83 (it was actually 83.5).
Note that Ehresmann gave the median age of confirmed cases by age yesterday as 39.7. It’s been a long time since they gave the median age of decedents. Instead, the Situation Update provides the number of new cases and decedents grouped by age. I’m pasting a screenshot of the current data below.
The superficiality of the daily briefings should defy belief. Ehresmann yammers on about systemic racism. When it comes to the differential death rates between Minnesota and Wisconsin at about 16:30, Ehresmann has nothing to say.
UPDATE: A reader kindly points out the data separately compiled here by MDH. The current median age of decedents is 83.6.
