COVID-19 Pandemic Taking A Toll On Rural Minnesota

From the Minnesota Reformer:

By Rilyn Eischens

October 29, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has begun to take a toll on greater Minnesota, with rural areas under increasing strain after escaping the worst of the pandemic for months.

The counties that reported the most new per capita cases last week are all in rural areas, according to data from the Minnesota Department of Health. In some greater Minnesota counties, the new case rate was more than two times higher than in the seven-county metro.

Polk County had the highest new case rate last week, with roughly eight new cases per 1,000 residents. Nobles County added 6.5 cases per 1,000 residents, and Roseau County added 5.8.

In the seven-county metro, Washington had the highest new case rate, at just over three new cases per 1,000 residents. In Hennepin and Ramsey, the state’s most populous counties, the rate was less than two cases per 1,000 residents.

The rural surge comes during a bleak month for Minnesota. The state reported a record 2,872 new cases Thursday, continuing a multi-week streak of adding at least 1,000 new cases per day and case growth that outpaces increases in testing.

Deaths and hospitalizations have also spiked. Last week, there were nearly 12 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital for every 100,000 Minnesota residents, another record high.

Health officials have said that informal gatherings among family and friends, especially indoor get-togethers, are driving the growth in COVID-19 cases statewide.

This could be the cause of the spike in greater Minnesota, the Star Tribune reported. Plus, people in rural areas seem to be less vigilant with public health measures like social distancing, wearing masks and avoiding events that draw crowds.

“I think people have become complacent in not following the recommended guidance,” Jennie Lippert, director of health and human services in Kandiyohi County, told the Star Tribune. “I think everyone is getting tired and weary of COVID-19, especially going into the winter months.”

Back in August, Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House pandemic response coordinator, traveled to Minnesota and urged rural residents to stay vigilant against COVID-19.

“Throughout many of the places we have stopped in Minnesota between rural gas stations and urban areas, there is real attention to these mitigation efforts in the urban areas but there really does need to be an improvement in many of the rural areas,” Birx said. “This virus has gotten very much into rural areas, so rural areas have to pay as much attention to this virus as urban areas.”

Outbreaks in neighboring states could also be contributing to the rise in cases in Minnesota’s border towns, officials say. North Dakota and South Dakota have the nation’s highest daily case rate, with more than 100 new cases per 100,000 residents, according to the Brown University School of Public Health, and Wisconsin has the third-highest, at 72.7 new daily cases per 100,000 residents. Iowa comes in ninth, with a rate of 42.4. Minnesota is ranked 14th, with 35.5 new cases per 100,000 residents.

Early in the pandemic, when cases were concentrated in the metro, health experts warned that a surge in rural areas could be devastating because of lack of health care infrastructure. Rural health care in Minnesota ranks highly in the U.S. by many measures, but some areas still have limited hospital access and a smaller health care workforce.

Fortunately, Minnesota’s health care systems have not been overwhelmed by COVID-19 cases, and hospitals report sufficient ICU capacity — but that could change, if the steep climb in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continues into the winter flu season.

The Minnesota Reformer is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to keeping Minnesotans informed and unearthing stories other outlets can’t or won’t tell..