Welcome to the weekend, We're getting a reminder that it's January in Minnesota after all. Highs today deep into the teens across the state, with sunny skies. Lows tonight will be around zero. That cold air dome will play a role in generating snowfall Saturday for most of Minnesota, particularly in southern parts of the state. Get the latest on the Updraft. Minnesota's COVID-19 vaccine rollout has been complicated and confusing. Here are things we know to help you understand the process, and get a hint of when you can expect your shots. The state's vaccination effort is happening in a few different ways, including its original multiphase plan and the new pilot program to expand the eligibility to people age 65 and over, and some educators. Under its phased plan, Minnesota is still vaccinating health care workers and long-term care residents in the Phase 1A group. Starting this week, Minnesotans age 65 and over are also eligible to get the vaccine at a handful of pilot sites around the state. So, as that original, phased approach continues, this new approach, at these nine sites across the state, is happening simultaneously. Read this FAQ to get answers to some of your COVID-19 vaccination questions. Minnesota appears to have dodged a major post-holiday surge in COVID-19 cases that officials had feared was coming. “While we could still see an increase in cases as a result of the New Year's holiday in particular, the evidence does suggest that we may have already seen our post-holiday spike, that thankfully it was a modest and manageable one,” Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm told reporters Thursday. It was hopeful news in an otherwise mixed day for COVID-19 numbers. While the count of patients in ICUs had fallen below 100 for the first time in four months, Minnesota passed 6,000 deaths in the pandemic yesterday.
Here are Minnesota’s current COVID-19 statistics: 6,011 deaths (32 more)450,762 positive cases (1,292 new), 433,722 off isolation (96 percent)6.2 million tests, 3.2 million people tested (about 56 percent of the population)4.4 percent seven-day positive test rate (officials find 5 percent or more concerning) Students returning to school should get tested for COVID-19, Minnesota officials now urge. The state's guidelines are directed at anyone who regularly interacts with people outside their household, like students returning to school or campus or playing youth sports. While everyone returning to school should get tested, officials say it’s especially important for younger Minnesotans ages 12 to 25 because they’re so active.
President Biden plans to sign executive orders to provide a stopgap measure of financial relief to millions of Americans. The two orders that President Joe Biden is expected to sign today would increase food aid, protect job seekers on unemployment and clear a path for federal workers and contractors to get a $15 hourly minimum wage. Congress begins to consider his much larger $1.9 trillion COVID-19 aid package, but the Biden White House has not provided a timeline for getting its proposed package through.
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