The percentage of Minnesota residents who have been tested for the novel coronavirus and have tested positive since the beginning of the pandemic has declined dramatically over the past two weeks, from 10.4 percent on Sunday May 24 to 8.1 percent on Sunday, June 7.
This decline has come despite 13 days of riots and protests involving thousands of people who ignored public health social distancing guidelines in Minneapolis-St. Paul in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd while being taken into custody by Minneapolis police on Monday, May 25.
At the close of business on Sunday, May 24, 10.4 percent, or 20,573, of the 197,964 people who were tested for COVID-19 from the beginning of the pandemic in Minnesota tested positive, according to the COVID Tracking project:
At the close of business on Sunday, June 7, that cumulative percentage of those who tested positive for COVID-19 in Minnesota from the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic had dropped to just 8.1 percent, or 27,886 out of 344,203 tested.
During the 14 day period beginning Monday May 25 and ending Sunday June 7, the percentage of those tested for COVID-19 who tested positive in Minnesota plunged to five percent. Only 7,313 of the 146,239 who were tested during that 14 day period tested positive.
The details of this 14 day period can be seen in Table 1 from the COVID Tracking project below.
Table 1
COVID-19 Tests in Minnesota
Daily Results Compared to Cumulative Results
May 24, 2020, to June 7, 2020
| Date | New Tests | New Positive | % Positive | Cum Positive | Cum Tests | Cum % Positive |
| June 7 | 10,719 | 385 | 3.6% | 27,886 | 344,203 | 8.1% |
| June 6 | 11,144 | 521 | 4.7% | 27,501 | 333,484 | 8.2% |
| June 5 | 46,718 | 707 | 1.5% | 26,980 | 322,340 | 8.4% |
| June 4 | 9,904 | 403 | 4.1% | 26,273 | 275,622 | 9.5% |
| June 3 | 6,971 | 362 | 5.2% | 25,870 | 265,718 | 9.7% |
| June 2 | 3,155 | 300 | 9.5% | 25,508 | 258,747 | 9.9% |
| June 1 | 6,073 | 358 | 5.9% | 25,208 | 255,592 | 9.9% |
| May 31 | 7,011 | 660 | 9.4% | 24,850 | 249,519 | 10.0% |
| May 30 | 8,635 | 659 | 7.6% | 24,190 | 242,508 | 10.0% |
| May 29 | 8,665 | 584 | 6.7% | 23,531 | 233,873 | 10.1% |
| May 28 | 8,676 | 483 | 5.6% | 22,947 | 225,208 | 10.2% |
| May27 | 6,634 | 504 | 7.6% | 22,464 | 216,532 | 10.4% |
| May 26 | 5,839 | 645 | 11.0% | 21,960 | 209,898 | 10.5% |
| May 25 | 6,095 | 742 | 12.2% | 21,315 | 204,059 | 10.4% |
| May24 | 8,471 | 728 | 8.6% | 20,573 | 197,964 | 10.4% |
| Total for 14 days from May 25, 2020 to June 7, 2020: | ||||||
| Tests | Positive Tests | % Positive | ||||
| 146,239 | 7,313 | 5.0% | ||||
Public health officials have warned that the massive gatherings of people during the George Floyd protests could cause a spike in the number of coronavirus cases nationwide, as Breitbart News reported last week:
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) expressed concerns about the riots’ impact on coronavirus, declaring on Saturday that “it’s inevitable” the demonstrations will lead to an increase in cases.
“I am deeply concerned about a super-spreader type of incident,” the Democrat governor said. “We’re going to see a spike in COVID-19. It’s inevitable.”
Minnesota State Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm issued a similar warning last Thursday.
Due to the lag time between exposure to COVID-19 and testable confirmation that someone has been infected, public health experts have recommended a 14-day self quarantine period for anyone who believes they have been exposed to the virus.
The Star Tribune added these details on Monday:
The growth rate of new cases has been slowing for two weeks. Using rolling averages to smooth out daily fluctuations, the daily increase in confirmed case counts has been declining on both a seven-day and a 14-day basis since hitting a high-water mark of about 700 new cases on May 24.
Delays in the system for reporting new confirmed cases make it difficult to precisely track trends over the prior week, but state health officials acknowledged over the weekend that the growth rate of new cases may have plateaued.
Change is also evident in the number of people getting intensive and regular levels of COVID-19 care in hospitals.
The Minnesota Department of Health reported on Monday that the number of patients currently hospitalized with COVID-19 patients has declined to 452.
A spokesperson for the Minnesota Department of Health told Fox 9 the full impact of the George Floyd protests on COVID-19 cases in the Minneapolis-St.Paul metropolitan area will not be completely known for another two to three weeks.