Photo courtesy of Avera Medical laboratory scientist Payton Noyes processed specimens from COVID tests on Wednesday. The need for COVID testing in the Marshall area has increased since the end of December, said Avera Marshall regional president and CEO Debbie Streier.

MARSHALL — As COVID-19 cases surge across the state, area health care providers are also seeing growing numbers of COVID cases and an increased demand for testing.

“We’re all experiencing the same thing,” said Debbie Streier, Avera Marshall regional president and CEO.

The Avera health system — which includes parts of the Dakotas, Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska — has seen the number of people testing positive for COVID rise sharply after the holidays, Streier said.

System-wide, the number of positive COVID tests Avera is seeing is now up to five times higher than it was in December, Streier said. Last month, the system was seeing 150 to 200 positive tests per day. Now, they are seeing 800 to 1,000 positives a day.

The majority of the new positive cases were infected with the omicron variant of COVID, she said.

The number of people seeking COVID testing at Marshall’s drive-up site and visiting urgent care with COVID concerns was up as well.

“Late last week we saw a high point of specimen collection,” Streier said.

Streier said the surge of positive COVID cases hasn’t really changed the number of people that have been hospitalized across the Avera system. With the omicron variant, health care providers aren’t anticipating as many hospital stays compared to other variants of COVID, she said.

Streier said the number of Avera patients who are receiving at-home care and monitoring for COVID has increased compared to two months ago. Currently, about 600 COVID patients are receiving at-home monitoring across the Avera system. In December, the number was 491, and in mid-November it was 367.

Statewide, there were more than 10,000 newly reported cases of COVID in Minnesota on Wednesday.

On a more local level, data from the CDC’s online COVID data tracker said Lyon County’s seven-day COVID positivity rate was 29.92% on Wednesday. Based on daily reports issued by the Minnesota Department of Health, a total of 224 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Lyon County residents between Jan. 3 and Jan. 11.

On Wednesday, the MDH reported an additional 24 new COVID cases in Lyon County residents. Since the start of the pandemic, a total of more than 5,400 Lyon County residents have tested positive for COVID-19, and 68 people have died.

The rise in COVID positivity and demand for testing in the region was briefly discussed at the Marshall City Council meeting on Tuesday night.

“We reflect what the nation has been showing,” council member Dr. Steven Meister said at the meeting.

Increased demand for testing and supply chain issues were affecting availability of testing supplies, he said.

Supply shortages are mainly affecting specific types of COVID tests, Streier said Wednesday. Rapid tests are being affected by shortages, so sites like the drive-up sample collection center in Marshall are having to go back to using tests that take up to 72 hours before results are available.

Streier said the drive-up site on Carlson street is still operating from 9 a.m. to noon on weekdays. But with the new Access Health clinic open at that location, people looking for drive-up testing are being asked to pull up at the east side of the building.

Streier also encouraged area residents to look at other testing options available to them in the area. The state has information on how Minnesotans can find COVID testing locations online at https://mn.gov/covid19/get-tested/testing-locations/index.jsp.

With increasing numbers of people seeking urgent care in Marshall, Streier also encouraged area residents to try scheduling virtual visits or making appointments with their primary care physicians.

Taking precautions against COVID like being vaccinated are still important, Streier said. People should continue to practice social distancing, wearing masks and staying home if they are sick.

The signs of a rise in COVID cases in the Marshall area also showed in the Marshall Public Schools COVID dashboard this week. On Wednesday, the dashboard said a total of 11 staff members and 56 students throughout the district had tested positive for COVID, and an additional 17 students were waiting for results.

The highest numbers of positive cases were reported at Marshall High School and Marshall Middle School, which had 24 positive cases and 21 positive cases, respectively.

On Wednesday, Tracy Area Public Schools announced to families that the district would be switching to distance learning from Jan. 13 through Jan. 17. Tracy Area High School Principal Kathy Vondracek said the decision to go to distance learning was not specifically because of COVID, but because of illnesses in general including COVID, influenza A and other viruses affecting students in the Tracy district.

“We want to give students and staff time to get healthy, and stop the spread from going further,” Vondracek said.

Tracy students are expected to return to class on Tuesday.