COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are declining in Minnesota on the downside of the omicron pandemic wave while daily deaths have plateaued.
The 1,239 COVID-19 hospitalizations in Minnesota on Friday were a 24% decrease from Jan. 19 and eased pressure on the state's medical bed capacity. Hospitalizations of COVID and non-COVID patients declined to 7,727 Friday.
The relief is good news for beleaguered hospitals, which have fewer staff than at the start of the pandemic because of burnout and other factors, state Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said.
"The omicron surge when it hit just really further exacerbated the staffing crisis in our hospitals," Malcolm said on Monday, addressing a Senate health committee about a $40 million contract to backstop understaffed hospitals with temporary nurses.
Malcolm said a $7.5 million decompression plan has helped as well by opening five makeshift transitional care sites to which hospitals can discharge recovering patients. In-home monitoring programs also have allowed hospitals to discharge patients more quickly and free up inpatient beds.
Four sites were opened in long-term care facilities to provide step-down care to non-COVID patients and a fifth was opened last week in Regions Hospital in St. Paul for COVID-19 patients who no longer needed inpatient care. The number of patients waiting four or more hours in emergency departments for inpatient beds has declined from more than 200 per day in early January to 93 at month's end.
"Four hours to wait in an ED for a bed is a long time" and has been associated with poorer health outcomes, Malcolm said.
The Minnesota Department of Health on Monday reported another 35 COVID-19 deaths, including two people in their 40s from Dakota and Ramsey counties. The additions raised Minnesota's toll in the pandemic to 11,634 but revealed a leveling off of COVID-19 deaths. Minnesota reached an average of 30 COVID-19 deaths per day in the week ending Jan. 10, but the rate has remained below that mark ever since.