Health Officials Confirm Second Case Of Coronavirus in Minnesota

ST. PAUL  -- The Minnesota Department of Health confirmed a second presumptive positive case of novel coronavirus, COVID-19. The case is a resident of Carver County in their 50s who was likely exposed to COVID-19 while traveling in Europe in late February.

The patient developed symptoms on March 2, and sought health care Saturday, March 7. Samples were collected from the person and sent to the MDH Public Health Laboratory for testing and the test was found positive late this afternoon, March 8. As with the COVID-19 case announced Friday, MDH is awaiting confirmatory testing from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) but health officials consider the presumptive results actionable.

The patient is in isolation at home and is recovering. MDH is working with Carver County Public Health and health care partners to identify and contact all those who may have come in contact with the infected person. These people will be asked to quarantine themselves for 14 days from their exposure and will be monitored for fever and respiratory symptoms.

Since the outbreak started in China in December 2019, more than 107,700 cases and 3,600 deaths have been reported in countries around the world. That total includes more than 500 U.S. cases and 21 deaths.