![Abigail DeLisle, member of the Duluth NAACP health and environmental equity committee, handed out a free mask to a community member on Wednesday afternoon. ]
ALEX KORMANN • alex.kormann@startribune.com The Duluth branch of the NAACP held a mask drive on Wednesday April 29, 2020 in the parking lot of the SuperOne on E. Superior St. Volunteers handed out free homemade cloth masks as well as hand sanitizer from Vikre Distillery.](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/M3UC6NQCY76RVHVBJE765BZYUY.jpg?&w=712)
The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed the lives of 28 more Minnesotans with another 594 testing positive, state health officials said Friday.
Testing continues to ramp up with 4,553 patient samples run Thursday, pushing the number of known cases to 5,730.
"The more we test the more we are going to find," Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said at Thursday's media briefing.
The number of people who have died from COVID-19 stands at 371.
Nearly 80% of all deaths have been among residents of nursing homes or assisted living facilities as of Thursday.
About 40% of the confirmed cases — 2,282 people — have since recovered.
Hospitalizations have gradually been increasing, with 369 occupying patient beds, including 118 who require intensive care.
With more testing, case counts in some counties have jumped dramatically, especially in some that have had outbreaks in food processing plants.
