As cases of COVID-19 in Minnesota rise, the threat of the deadly virus continues to change most, if not all, aspects of our lives. We must adapt to these new changes if we want things to return to normal again. However, it is equally important to know about the facts and numbers. Arguably the most important number to focus on is the new case count. Each day at 11 AM, the Minnesota Department of Health releases the number of positive cases from the previous day. The most recent totals from the past week are shown below. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly how many cases Eden Prairie has had because the Department of Health tracks them by county, not city. Luckily, the Star Tribune found a way to narrow things down even further by creating a map that shows the numbers from each of the state’s many zip codes. Here’s a chart that shows those numbers for EP’s 3 zip codes. Find yours below!

Another important number to keep track of is the death count. Minnesota’s death count has decreased significantly since its peak in late May, thanks to new medicines and the lower average age of new patients. While plenty of days have worryingly high numbers, many of the higher counts are due to test backlogs and aren’t always representative of that day’s actual death count.

The numbers I have mentioned are just three of dozens this pandemic has produced. If you want to read more about other numbers I didn’t address, the Department of Health and the Star Tribune are great resources. A map was made by a student here on our staff, Anika Lange. She created a map that shows how various Minnesota schools have set up their year, alongside any cases of COVID that school may have reported. This map can be found here: https://maphub.net/Thelanger21/schools-and-covid

While deaths and unlisted hospitalizations are down, cases continue to add up. This brings the state to its current total of over 90,000 cases (though nearly all of those are inactive). People need to be aware of these numbers and trends to stay knowledgeable and to keep themselves safe. Hopefully, the curves will soon flatten and we will be able to resume everyday life again.