COVID-19 case counts for June 30

For Tuesday, June 30, the state of Minnesota released new figures showing six COVID-19 deaths for the last reporting period ending at 4 p.m. yesterday.

Also, a total of 444 COVID-19 cases were added to the state's total. In Stearns County, the case count grew by 36, while Stevens County added one and Douglas County added three. Kandiyohi and Pope counties both reported no new COVID-19 cases.

This is the first time in quite awhile that Douglas County has COVID cases added to their total, which now stands at 61 cases.

Cumulative totals for other area counties:
Pope County - 10
Stevens County - 4
Kandiyohi County - 565
Stearns County - 2,265
Todd County - 398
Swift County - 20 

Food for thought: two percent of the passionate will control 98 percent of the indifferent 100 percent of the time if we don’t wake up.

OSHA says... (VIDEO)

The more you know...


Now come back and talk to me about masks when you are feeling brave...

New COVID case counts for June 29

Stearns County has 28 new cases of COVID-19 for the reporting period of Monday, June 29.

No other area county (Todd, Douglas, Swift, Pope, Kandiyohi) reported any new COVID-19 cases.

The state of Minnesota reported 10 new COVID-19 deaths today. Also, a total of 315 new COVID cases were reported from across the state, including 98 in Hennepin County.

Hospitalization numbers from COVID infections continued the trend of decline in Minnesota. As of today, 278 are hospitalized and 140 are in ICU.

Loss of economic activity leads to death

Deaths of despair are being overlooked right now.

Here's a 50-minute video I'd like to share:

Unemployment leads to death.

And, there's more!

"In addition to lives lost because of lost income, lives are also lost due to delayed or foregone health care." - Scott Atlas, John Birge, Ralph Keeney, Alexander Lipton, The Hill, May 25, 2020.

Currently, in June of 2020, over 650,000 Americans are undergoing cancer treatment of chemotherapy. Half of them stopped getting their chemotherapy in recent months treatments because some hospitals stopped "non-essential" treatments. This can include anything that's non-emergent. This can literally be thousands of biopsies per week of potential cancer.

Altogether, it's estimated that since March of this year, over half to three-quarters of all necessary cancer screenings did not take place.

Let that sink in for a moment.

More cases reported in Stearns County

For the reporting period released on Sunday, June 28, the Minnesota Department of Health released the new COVID-19 case count for Stearns County that shows 34 new cases of the novel coronavirus. For the day prior, Stearns County had 11 cases added to their total. The total COVID case count for Stearns County now stands at an even 2,200 in a population of over 161,000 people.

It's important to note that some people are tested multiple times, so the figure of "2,200" does not mean that 2,200 Stearns County citizens have been diagnosed with COVID.

Around the area...Kandiyohi County had one new case, while Pope, Swift and Douglas counties all reported none.

Hospitalizations from COVID continues to drop in the state, down to 288 overall and 143 in ICU. This is the lowest number of patients in ICU in a single day since May 2, when 135 were in ICU.

A total of eight new COVID deaths were reported in Minnesota with new COVID cases totaling 523 on a testing volume of 14,997 tests. That testing volume is the second-highest in Minnesota of any day, topped only by the 15,900 tests reported on June 3.

Also, the positive test rate for today's period is 3.5 percent, which is where it's been for at least the past week.

Moral high ground and "safety"

Humanity seems to be in a loop, wherein the safer we become, the more intolerable any remaining risk appears.

That makes us more susceptible or more receptive to “projects” that make us even more safe, under the cover of which, is much more 
bureaucratic grasping either by corporations or the state.

• Here's more food for thought in this video:

Moral high ground = safety. How do you argue against the “most safe” option?

COVID case counts and updates for June 26

For Friday, June 26:

Stearns County has reported 15 new COVID-19 cases as of today. The total COVID case count for Stearns County is now 2,156.

Kandiyohi County added one new case. No new cases were reported out of Douglas, Pope and Swift counties.

The state of Minnesota reported five new COVID deaths, and all were in long-term care facilities. All five were residents of either Hennepin or Dakota counties.

Minnesota as a whole reported 493 new COVID-19 cases on a testing volume of 14,560 tests. That equates to a 3.4 percent positive rate on testing.

I'll end this blog post by paraphrasing something that President John F. Kennedy once said: "Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be a stronger person."