COVID-19 positivity rates increase

COVID-19 positivity rates in O'Brien and Clay counties continued to climb over the past week.

O'Brien County's seven-day growth was the highest, increasing from 8 percent on March 9 to 11 percent on March 16. Clay County's positivity rate increased from 8 percent to 9 percent over that same timeframe. Overall, the state's seven-day rate was 4.2 percent, up from 3.9 percent a week ago.

Coronavirus-related deaths were unchanged in O'Brien and Clay counties at 58 and 25, respectively. Those numbers have been the same for the past four weeks. Statewide, there have been 5,657 fatalities, up from 5,...