Brooten, Elrosa continue with no new COVID-19 cases

*Note: this web article was updated on March 1.

New COVID-19 cases have seen another sharp decline in the latest weekly report released by the Minnesota Department of Health on February 25. For the rural and city citizens of Brooten, no new COVID-19 cases were reported for a second consecutive week out of a population of 1,466 people. A string of nine straight weeks with no new COVID-19 cases is now reality for the city of Elrosa (population 197). For the city and rural population of Belgrade (2,622 people), the MDH has reported four new COVID-19 cases for the last week. The cumulative COVID-19 cases for the three local zip codes, a figure that dates back to January 2020, is as follows: 56312 total of 244 cases, 56316 total of 121 cases, 56325 total of 17 cases.

Other data will be updated on this web article on Saturday afternoon, February 27. (Apologies - the update is posted on Monday, March 1)

Area zip code COVID increases for the one-week period reported on February 25:

Willmar 56201 - 23 new cases (total 3,616);

Benson 56215 - 1 new case (total 473);

Kandiyohi 56251 - 4 new cases (total 137);

Kerkhoven 56252 - no new cases (total 144, second straight week with no new cases);

Murdock 56271 - 1 new case (total 97, prior week had no new cases);

New London 56273 - 1 new case (total 571, prior week increase was 2 cases);

Pennock 56279 - 3 new cases (total 152, prior week increase was 1 case);

Spicer 56288 - 6 new cases (total 451, prior week increase was 1 case);

Sunburg 56289 - NO new cases (total 77, they've had a multi-week stretch with no new cases);

Alexandria 56308 - 21 new cases (total 2,710 with a prior-week increase of 16 cases);

Freeport 56331 - NO new cases (total 197, prior week increase was 4 new cases);

Glenwood 56334 - 2 new cases (total 446, prior week increase was 14 cases);

Melrose 56352 - 4 new cases (total 786, prior week increase was 8 new cases);

Osakis 56360 - 2 new cases (total 422, prior week increase was 4 new cases);

Paynesville 56362 - 6 new cases (total 726, prior week increase was also 6 cases);

Long Prairie 56347 - 11 new cases (total 926, prior week increase was 9 cases);

Roscoe 56371 - NO new cases (total 13, the prior week increase was also zero cases);

Sauk Centre 56378 - 4 new cases (total 898, prior week increase was 4 cases);

Starbuck 56381 - 3 new cases (total 169, prior week increase was one case);

Villard 56385 - 3 new cases (total 50, prior week increase was 1 new case).

More good news: each week more senior citizens in the Bonanza Valley area are getting their vaccination process going. Minnesota has a long ways to go, but it is progress. Over in South Dakota, they have 13.6 percent of their population who have received both doses of one of the vaccines. Good for them! That figure was released on February 28.