Insider: Rising COVID Cases But Tighter Restrictions Not Likely

UNDATED -- COVID-19 case counts are on the rise in Minnesota. Over the past two weeks, the rolling average number of daily new cases has increased by nearly 47%, according to Johns Hopkins University researchers. Minnesota has recorded the nation's fifth-highest of new cases per population in that time. Both hospitalizations and deaths from the virus are trending up as well.

However, political insider Blois Olson says he doesn't expect Governor Tim Walz to dial back the COVID restrictions with this new wave of positive cases.

He sees this as a race between getting people vaccinated and these variants.  While cases are rising, serious ICU admissions are not necessarily pressuring hospitals as much.  There are certainly more hospitalizations happening right now, but they are not as serious as what we saw in November and December.

There were 13 new deaths reported Sunday, bringing the toll over the course of the pandemic to 6,957.

Olson says the Governor is also trying to negotiate a state budget right now, which would be difficult to do with the Republican-controlled State Senate if he put tighter restrictions in place again.

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