COVID-19 case count soars in northern Minnesota, new case in Cook County

A ninth Cook County resident has tested positive for COVID-19, county officials confirmed with WTIP today. 

The individual is a Cook County woman in her 50s. Contact tracing is underway.

The reports of new cases in late September and now in October were likely to lead to an uptick in local cases similar to what the community witnessed in early to mid-August where there were four cases in a short time frame, according to Dr. Kurt Farchmin from Sawtooth Mountain Clinic in Grand Marais. Farchmin said on WTIP Sept. 30 that it would be likely there will be more cases in the coming days or perhaps week ahead in Cook County.

Elsewhere around the region, the case count for COVID-19 continues to climb in Lake County. Home to Two Harbors, Silver Bay and Finland, Lake County now has more than 80 confirmed cases.

In St. Louis County (Ely, Duluth, etc.), the case count is over well over 2,000. There have been multiple deaths among St. Louis County residents this week due to COVID-19.

President Donald Trump held a rally in Duluth last week on Sept. 30. Days later the president tested positive and spent all of last weekend in a hospital as he was sick from the virus.

This week Trump told United States citizens “don’t be afraid of Covid” and to not “let it dominate your life.”