Olmsted County records lowest weekly Covid case count since March 2020

Olmsted County’s weekly Covid-19 case rates continue to drop, with numbers reaching their lowest totals since the start of the pandemic. 

This past week, Olmsted County recorded 30 new cases and was averaging four cases per day, down from seven cases a day the previous week.

Graham Briggs, director of Olmsted County Public Health, said that due to the declining case count, the community is continuing to seeing more businesses opening up, indicating a return to normalcy. 

Briggs also said that the vaccine rate in the community was a driving force behind the low case count. Throughout Olmsted County, 64 percent of the overall population has received at least one dose of a vaccine, including 78 percent of those 16 or older. 

“We’re seeing enough immunity within the population now that we have some protection,” Briggs said in a video update.

Despite the encouraging numbers, Briggs noted that Covid-19 was still present within the county, adding that residents should “not be surprised if we continue to see cases or hotspots around the community.”

Still, Briggs said there is good reason to feel encouraged about the progress being made. He thanked the community for following masking and physical distancing guidelines throughout the pandemic, as well as those who are getting vaccinated.

“It’s great to be able to finally say that we’re moving past this, and I hope that that trend continues,” he said.

Catey Ackerman is a summer news intern for Med City Beat. A graduate of Mayo High School, she now studies criminology and English at Penn State University.