St. Paul, MN (KROC-AM News) - The coronavirus related death toll in Minnesota has hit 700 but the number of deaths over the past week dropped when compared to the two previous weeks.

The Minnesota Department of Health today reported 17 additional COVID-19 deaths in the state. Over the past 7 days, 142 people have died in Minnesota with confirmed COVID-19 infections. The count from the previous week was 163, while the health department reported 151 coronavirus-related deaths during the week prior to that seven-day stretch.

The daily update on coronavirus activity in Minnesota also shows the number of people hospitalized due to the new viral illness has been nearly stable over the past 5 days but the number of COVID-19 patients currently requiring ICU treatment hit a new high of 225 on Friday. There have now been over 2000 hospitalizations and 700 patients have been treated in intensive care units since the start of the pandemic.

The health department today also reported a new record for the number of tests conducted in a single day. About 8,600 coronavirus tests were completed on Friday, which pushed the overall testing total above 143,000. The tests conducted Friday identified 740 new COVID-19 infections and raised the overall statewide total to just under 15,000.

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