| Derek Montgomery for MPR News
Dec. 1, 2020 'We are a hot spot' | |
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Good morning. Today marks the start of meteorological winter, but we're expecting above average temps this week. It's no heatwave but highs should run in the 30s to 40s across the state. Find out more from Updraft.
Minnesota is a 'hot spot' for the coronavirus, top state health officials said Monday.
At a glance, the latest COVID-19 data released Monday could be heartening. The number of newly confirmed or probable cases was down from a week earlier, but so was testing.
There were 15 new deaths, the lowest daily count reported in the past two weeks. Still, it raised the toll to 1,136 deaths reported during November — nearly one-third of all the deaths tied to COVID-19 in the pandemic.
State health officials and Gov. Tim Walz urged Minnesotans not to read too much into improvements as it is still unclear the impact Thanksgiving gatherings will have on these trends.
Hospital staffing remains a point of great concern,
Dr. Cindy Firkins Smith, president of Carris Health in western Minnesota.
“We have to tell it like it is. We have to give people the honest, horrible truth of what we're facing,” she said. “We have to tell them, ‘If you don't do it — if you, the public, don't do what you can do — we can't save you because there are only so many people to take care of people out there.’”
Here are Minnesota’s current COVID-19 statistics:
3,593 deaths (15 new)318,763 positive cases, 272,608 off isolation (5,801 new) 4.3 million tests, 2.5 million people tested (about 45 percent of the population)10.5 percent seven-day positive test rate (officials find 5 percent concerning)Minneapolis mayor and police chief oppose a proposal that would shift nearly $8 million from the police department's 2021 budget.
Mayor Jacob Frey called the plan "irresponsible" and said that the community wants a both-and approach.
“They're looking for deep structural change in our police department, a full-on culture shift in how we do business. They're looking for elements of safety beyond policing. And they want a police, a law enforcement, response as well," he said.
Minnesota regulators have approved the final permit for Enbridge Energy’s Line 3 crude oil pipeline replacement across northern Minnesota. The decision gives the company the green light to begin construction on the $2.6 billion project, though it's not yet clear when they'll start.
The company and its supporters welcomed the decision, but opponents have vowed to keep up their fight — with a consolidated appeal by environmental and tribal groups currently pending before the Minnesota Court of Appeals.
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-- Sara Porter, MPR News |
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