Visiting rules for nursing homes, long-term care facilities eased

Colder temps on the way. Look for increasing clouds tonight, with scattered rain showers in the northern part of the state. Lows will be in the 40s. Tomorrow will be sunny with highs in the mid-50s to lower 60s.

The confirmation hearings for Amy Coney Barrett kicked off in Washington this morning, with statements from Barrett and nearly two dozen members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The Minnesota Department of Health relaxed its restrictions on visiting nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Officials said the state had one of the lowest rates of COVID-19 infections among senior living residents in the country — ranking 40th among the states.

The new guidelines, effective Saturday, allow more visitors in facilities that haven’t had a COVID-19 case in two weeks and have limited transmission in the surrounding community.

Minnesota reported another 1,100 positive COVID-19 tests today, marking the first time positive cases have topped 1,000 for five days in a row.

The numbers are actually down slightly from the weekend, when the state reported more than 3,000 new cases. The rolling seven-day average for new cases is up over 1,200 for a second day — more than double that average a month ago.