The Minnesota Department of Health reports two counties in central Minnesota are seeing a heightened risk of COVID-19 this holiday season. RSV and influenza are also on the rise statewide.
Pope and Douglas counties, both neighbor Stearns County to the west, were classified by the MDH as a high and moderate risk area for COVID-19, respectively. Stearns, Benton, Sherburne, Morrison and Wright counties are considered to be low risk.
Douglas County, which is home to Alexandria, was classified as a moderate risk area on Thursday, Dec. 19, as the COVID-19 hospitalization rate is at 10.66 people per 100,000 residents, according to a MDH report.
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Pope County, which is where Glenwood is, was given a high risk classification by the MDH as it experiences a hospitalization rate of 18.1 people per 100,000 residents.
COVID-19 is impacting Minnesotans 65 years of age and older at a disproportionate rate statewide, according to the MDH. The statewide hospitalization rate for this age range is roughly 13 hospitalizations per 100,000 people. This is compared to a hospitalization rate of 1.18 for the ages of 50 to 64.
Minnesota's statewide hospitalization rate for influenza has increased by nearly 18 times since Oct. 1. However, it isn't hitting central Minnesota with high numbers. On Thursday, the MDH reported one influenza hospitalization in Stearns County while none were documented in either Benton or Sherburne counties.
Influenza hot spots include Yellow Medicine, Aitkin, Itasca and Kittson counties.
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Meanwhile, the MDH reports Minnesota's RSV infection rate is six times higher than it was on Oct. 1. This increase is heavily impacting the elderly population, whose RSV hospitalization rate has more than tripled since the beginning of the month.
Last week, there were three RSV-related hospitalizations in Stearns County, one in Sherburne County and none in Benton County. Counties listed at high risk for RVS include Kandiyohi, Goodhue, Steele and Dodge counties.
Corey Schmidt covers politics and courts for the St. Cloud Times. He can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: COVID, RSV hits Minnesota senior citizens this holiday season