Here Are The Latest COVID-19 Case Rates, Which Determine Learning Methods In MN Schools

Some Minnesota children are set to return to school next week under peculiar circumstances brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Minnesota, educators were required to plan for three different learning scenarios, which could change at any time throughout the year.  Schools prepared for distance learning, in-person learning, and a hybrid of the two.  Districts are also offering distance learning for students that cannot attend in-person learning due to health or other reasons.

The learning model each school in the state will use is determined by the number of cases per 10,000 residents:

• 0-9 cases per 10,000 residents: In-person learning for all students
• 10-19 cases per 10,000 residents: In-person learning for elementary students; hybrid learning for secondary students
• 20-29 cases per 10,000 residents: Hybrid learning for all students
• 30-49 cases per 10,000 residents: Hybrid learning for elementary students; distance learning for secondary students
• 50+ cases per 10,000 residents: Distance learning for all students

On Thursday, the Minnesota Department of Health released it’s latest 14-day case rates for each county in Minnesota.  The rates are updated weekly.  This is the data that determines which learning method schools will use.  The latest updates cover the period of August 2 to August 15.

Here are the case rates per 10,000 residents in Southern Minnesota, compared to the rates from the previous data (most recent data listed first; numbers are rounded up):

Blue Earth – 19/22
Brown – 6/6
Cottonwood – 11/10
Faribault – 11/7
Fillmore – 8/5
Freeborn – 6/5
Jackson – 14/12
Le Sueur – 19/15
Lyon – 6/5
McLeod – 32/25
Martin – 4/5
Mower – 12/13
Nicollet – 19/20
Nobles – 22/18
Redwood – 5/4
Renville – 5/8
Rice – 11/11
Sibley – 9/5
Steele – 11/11
Waseca – 22/16
Watonwan – 25/24

The Minnesota Department of Health says there are 50 counties in the state with case rates from 0-9.  Twenty-nine counties have case rates ranging from 10 to 19.  There are seven counties in the 20 to 29 case rate, and only one county has a case rate of 30 to 49.  There are no counties with case rates above 50, an improvement from earlier in the summer.

Here are the infection numbers for children from MDH’s daily COVID-19 update:

Age 0 -4 – 1,431 (1 death)
Age 5-9 – 1,354
Age 10-15 – 2,012
Age 15-19 – 6,244

Source:  southernminnesotanews.com