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Confirmed COVID-19 cases in Lyon Co. now four

Minn. Dept. of Heath lists one each in Pipestone, Murray; Lincoln grows to 2

MARSHALL — The state of Minnesota is getting closer to 1,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the Minnesota Department of Health reports, and the novel coronavirus continues to spread across the area.

On Monday, Southwest Health and Human Services said Murray County and Redwood County had each reported their first confirmed cases of COVID-19. Pipestone County reported its first positive case on Sunday. All three patients are following recommendations from the MDH and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, SWHHS said.

At the same time, the number of confirmed cases in Lincoln and Lyon County have grown since last week. The total number of confirmed cases now stands at two in Lincoln County and four in Lyon County.

As of Monday, the MDH reported a total of 986 people across the state have tested positive for COVID-19. Of those cases, a total of 470 have recovered and no longer need to be isolated.

A total of 115 people are hospitalized with the virus as of Monday, with 57 in intensive care. There have been a total of 30 deaths reported from COVID-19.

While health officials had expected to see COVID-19 show up in southwest Minnesota, SWHHS emergency preparedness coordinator Lauren Mellenthin said it’s still important to keep practicing social distancing, and to wash hands often.

“We want to be taking everything seriously,” Mellenthin said. Precautions like practicing good hygiene and staying home not only help people protect themselves, but help people protect their families and neighbors.

While the MDH conducts the contact investigations whenever a patient tests positive for COVID-19, Mellenthin said SWHHS is continuing to monitor the situation. Area public health is getting ready for the possibility that MDH will have them step in to provide essential services for people with COVID-19, she said. “Essential services” would include things like delivering groceries or medications to people who are quarantined due to COVID-19 and have no one else to help them, she said.

However, so far the MDH has not said any of the area patients need that service, Mellenthin said.

New federal guidelines are now also recommending people wear cloth masks to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

During a press briefing Monday, MDH Commissioner Jan Malcolm offered some clarifications, and warned that people shouldn’t forget social distancing just because they’re wearing a mask.

“We just want to keep reinforcing that people who are sick need to stay at home,” Malcolm said.

Cloth masks don’t protect the wearer from catching coronavirus, Malcolm said. However, they do help keep people who may not know they have COVID-19 from infecting others.

Social distancing and washing hands are still “the primary protective means” against COVID-19, Malcolm said.

Malcolm added that people should also not wear surgical masks or N95 masks, because those kinds of masks are needed by medical workers.

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