MDH COVID-19 briefing: Details on Birx’s visit, informal gatherings leading to more virus spread
According to Malcolm, Birx was worried about how quickly the number of cases in the state is growing, with case growth in the past week (9.9%) outpacing the increase in testing (7.6%).
Informal gatherings have been a weak spot for Minnesota in fighting COVID-19, Malcolm said, which Birx agreed with. Malcolm said MDH is seeing a good amount of mask compliance in public places but the small gatherings with family or friends at private residences seems to have become a big problem in the state.
“To be frank, we have too many instances where people are not aware or are not compliant,” Malcolm said.
Malcolm cited things like house parties, weddings, funerals and other small gatherings where social distancing and mask-wearing aren’t being followed as issues that are leading to case growth in Minnesota, and added that some people who are sick or should be isolating after attending big crowded events aren’t staying home.
“One person can unwittingly infect dozens of others at an event,” Ehresmann said, noting that every single person matters and that’s why it’s so important to follow the health guidelines to slow the spread of COVID-19.
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With the holiday weekend approaching, Malcolm said it’s important people take the virus and MDH’s guidelines seriously because the situation could very quickly get worse and turn into a situation like Florida and some other states have faced.
In addition to the small gatherings, Malcolm said Dr. Birx noted that they’re seeing many people who’ve traveled over the summer now returning to Minnesota and it could also be contributing to the uptick in cases in the state, as cases from the South are starting to creep more into the Midwest.
Below are other highlights from Monday’s call:
— Since June, Minnesota has had more than 500 outbreaks linked to social gatherings, according to Ehresmann.
— A total of 49 cases of COVID-19 in Minnesota have now been linked to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Two of those patients have been hospitalized and one is in the ICU.
— MDH has detected more cases in clusters with students returning to campus across the state. Ehresmann noted that most of the cases occurred off-campus. Winona County has been particularly affected, Ehresmann said.
— Malcolm and Ehresmann said they’re happy to see some lower death and hospitalization numbers lately but cautioned that deaths and hospitalizations are lagging indicators that can take several weeks to show up after a confirmed case. With the rising cases recently, they said Dr. Birx cautioned that if the state doesn’t get the spread down soon, those numbers could rise in the future and if Minnesota waits until deaths and hospitalization numbers spike, it’ll already be too late to get under control quickly.
— As for schools, with cases rising, Malcolm and Ehresmann said if MDH doesn’t start to see case numbers stabilizing soon it will put chances for students having in-person classes on very shaky ground.
