Friday November 27, 2020
Doctors test a hospital staffer Tuesday for coronavirus, in a triage tent that's been set up outside the E.R. at St. Barnabas hospital in the Bronx. Hospital workers are at higher risk of getting COVID-19, and public health experts fear a staffing shortage in the U.S. is coming. Misha Friedman/Getty Images
Minneapolis (HOL) - Minnesota’s Department of Health said that a record-high 101 people have died from COVID-19 in the state in a single day, smashing the previous bench-mark of 72 deaths. A total of 3,476 people have succumbed to the pandemic so far.
The grimacing figures released by the MDH this week provide a glimpse into what has been one of the worst months since the pandemic began. In this month alone, Minnesota saw 1,019 COVID-19 fatalities, roughly a third of all total fatalities.
Reacting to the new statistics, the states health commissioner, Jan Malcolm, called it a “sad development”.
State officials urged Minnesotans to keep the annual Thanksgiving gatherings exclusively to household members, worrying that the holidays may be a super-spreader.
“This Thanksgiving, many Minnesotans set their holiday table smaller than they normally do. Many chose to do so to protect their family from the spread of COVID-19. But for the more than 3,000 families who have lost loved ones to COVID-19, it wasn’t a choice. Those chairs will always remain empty,” Governor Walz said in a statement.
“As we hit this sombre milestone, we owe those families a promise. We must promise them that their loved ones did not die in vain. We must honour them by fighting this virus at every turn.”