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Mayo experts think COVID has yet to peak in Minnesota

Published

2 years ago

January 19, 2022

We thought we were reaching the end of the COVID-19 tunnel a few months ago, and then variants caused higher spikes than before. What could happen next?

Curtis Storlie, a data scientist at Mayo in Rochester, Minn., said Omicron may peak in Minnesota in the next week or two.

“After that, there’ll be an abrupt decline in cases for several weeks before we’re back down to case levels that are I guess what we would kind of consider normal,” Storlie said.

Because of widespread vaccination, Storlie added that immunity is increasing, so new cases may be low for the near future. He added, however, that it’s up to the public keep wearing masks and taking precautions to prevent the spread.

Dr. Conor Loftus, the chair of outpatient practice at Mayo, asks people to take precautions to avoid getting sick.

“ICU is very busy, the hospital overall is very busy,” Loftus said. “The majority of patients that are hospitalized with serious illness related to COVID unfortunately are unvaccinated, so coming back to safety and the tools we have at hand, vaccination and boosters are key.”

Loftus added that it may take some time for COVID levels to go down enough that society can go back to being “maskless.”

Brad Williams

A native of Prairie du Chien, Brad graduated from UW - La Crosse and has worked in radio news for more than 30 years, mostly in the La Crosse area. He regularly covers local courts and city and county government. Brad produces the features "Yesterday in La Crosse" and "What's Buried on Brad's Desk." He also writes the website "Triviazoids," which finds odd connections between events that happen on a certain date, and he writes and performs with the local comedy group Heart of La Crosse. Brad been featured on several national TV programs because of his memory skills.