Cook Co. Is The Last MN County Under 50 Cases Per 10K Rate

And then there was one. In the latest report from the Minnesota Department of Health this morning, there was only one county in the entire state under the 50 cases per 10,000 resident threshold that recommends distance learning for students. That county is...Cook County.

Last week's report showed that Minnesota had 4 counties under the 50 cases per 10,000 resident threshold rate, and the way that the data is trending this might be the last week where there are any counties under that 50 case per 10k guideline.

The highest case rate belongs to Cottonwood County with a 298.98 case per 10K residents total. Currently, there are more than 25 counties (27) with a case rate of over 200 including Rice County, which has a current case rate of 217.59. There are some counties in Southern Minnesota with large cases per 10k residents rates, but Rice County is the only one above 200.

Other counties in our area case rates per 10k residents are:

Blue Earth - 159.52
Dakota - 156.96
Dodge - 123.41
Fillmore - 111.55
Freeborn - 152.98
Goodhue - 156.87
Houston - 133.42
Le Sueur - 155.81
Mower - 156.56
Olmsted - 107.21
Rice - 217.59
Scott - 190.20
Steele - 172.32
Wabasha - 160.93
Waseca - 145.67
Winona - 141.40

You can see the full report here.

Many area schools have already been engaging in distance learning since early November, with other area schools announcing extensions of distance learning through January 7.

Governor Walz's executive order restricting indoor dining at bars and restaurants and also pausing many organized indoor activities is in effect through December 18th, but it can be extended if the Governor feels, through advice from various medical professionals, that it's not safe to "dial back" his restrictions.