In Minnesota wastewater, there is more COVID, but the severity is still low.

The state looks to be on the cusp of a surge in pandemic activity in the United States, but infections haven't yet converted into more serious cases.

Minnesota's wastewater includes more COVID-19, but rising trends haven't yet resulted in the catastrophic consequences of earlier pandemic waves.

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According to a Friday report, sampling at the Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Plant in St. Paul indicated an 11 percent rise in the average quantity of viral material in sewage over the previous week. Rising amounts were also recorded this week in all seven Minnesota monitoring zones, based on sampling at 40 treatment facilities that serve 67 percent of the state's population.

Although the highly transmissible BA.2 coronavirus subvariant is responsible for 97 percent of viral material detected in sewage in the Twin Cities, sampling revealed the first evidence of a faster-spreading BA.2.12.1 variant, which is pushing up COVID-19 cases in the northeastern United States. Earlier this month, genomic sequencing of positive COVID-19 specimens from Minnesotans discovered this variation in eight individuals.

Neither variation is causing the same amount of COVID severity as previous pandemic waves in Minnesota, and health experts think that high levels of protection from infections and immunizations are protecting people. On Thursday, Minnesota recorded 276 COVID-19 hospitalizations, up from 183 on April 10. However, just 8% of hospitalizations need critical care, compared to a high incidence of 30% at various periods last year during the delta variant wave.

Dr. Mark Sannes, an infectious disease expert with HealthPartners, which manages Regions Hospital in St. Paul and Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park, said, "What we're seeing in the hospital right now is different from last autumn and last winter."

"About half of our patients who have been diagnosed with COVID via testing are really infected with something other than COVID, so their clinical condition is different," he noted.

Similarly, Allina Health in Minneapolis reported an increase in the positive rate of outpatient COVID-19 testing from 3.8 percent to 8.2 percent in the last three weeks. However, the increase has not been matched by an increase in hospital admissions.

Case counts, which might be skewed by whether patients with minor illnesses seek publically reportable diagnostic testing, are regarded a more accurate indication of COVID-19 activity than wastewater monitoring. At the moment, both indicators agree on the direction of travel.

The Minnesota Department of Health reported 1,979 infections on Friday, up from 374 new infections per day in the week ending March 20 to 1,053 new infections per day on April 23. On Friday, Minnesota reported five COVID-19 fatalities, bringing the total number of deaths in the state to 12,508. The COVID-19 mortality rate has dropped to two per day during the last seven days.

According to a re-examination of blood specimens submitted for medical testing since early September, an estimated 61 percent of Minnesotans have had COVID-19 in the last year or two. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention emphasised that this does not indicate that 61 percent of Minnesotans are immune — protection fades with time — and that there does not seem to be a herd immunity rate that prevents the coronavirus from spreading.

"We would anticipate seroprevalence to climb over time, eventually nearing 100%," said Dr. Jefferson Jones, a CDC preventive medicine expert, while some patients would have undetectable COVID-19 antibodies in their blood after a year or two.

Immunity gained via vaccination and infection is playing a role, particularly because half of Minnesota's COVID-19 cases have been diagnosed since last autumn, according to Sannes. "It is for this reason that the severity of sickness is decreasing. We have a large number of people who are immune to a variety of methods. The question remains unanswered: how long will it last?"

According to a CDC report released on Thursday, the counties of Olmsted and Wabasha in Minnesota are at high pandemic risk, based on current infection and hospitalisation rates. Except for the Northeast, where the BA.2.12.1 variation is the primary source of viral propagation, Minnesota and Wisconsin are the only states with high-risk counties. In counties with significant levels of pollution, wearing a mask in public places inside is advised.

While the rest of Minnesota is experiencing mild or low temperatures, Minneapolis reacted to local patterns on Thursday by recommending that residents wear masks.

According to Luisa Pessoa-Brandao, an epidemiology manager for the Minneapolis Health Department, a high-risk classification indicates hospitalizations have already reached alarming proportions, so Minneapolis is attempting to be "proactive" and urge people to protect themselves before that occurs. "Masks are well-known for their effectiveness in reducing transmission. Why should we wait until we've reached a high degree of community?"

More individuals should have COVID-19 immunizations, according to health experts. The state's immunisation rate remains stalled at 49 percent of eligible citizens aged 5 and above.