BROWN COUNTY — Approximately one out of every ten people in Brown County has contracted COVID-19 in the past year.

Brown County Public Health has been tracking all confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the county since April 2020.

On March 10, 2021, the running tally of COVID-19 cases reached 2,510. This represents over 10% of Brown County’s population. The county hit this 10% milestone at roughly the one-year anniversary of COVID-19 forcing most of the country into quarantine.

The majority of Brown County residents who contracted COVID-19 have recovered. Currently, Public Health is counting 62 known active COVID cases in isolation.

Brown County Public Health is only able to count laboratory-confirmed cases. Public Health Director Karen Moritz said those who are asymptomatic were unlikely to test and some with symptoms might not have sought treatment.

Brown County saw relatively few confirmed COVID cases during the first three months of the quarantine. According to Brown County’s COVID-19 dashboard, eight confirmed cases of the virus were reported in April 2020, seven in May 2020 and 11 in June 2020. It was not until July that Brown County began seeing daily increases in the spread of COVID, but the highest increase came in the fall.

November 2020 saw the highest spike in COVID-19. According to public health data, there were 1,041 confirmed COVID cases in Brown County. This means 41% of all Brown County COVID cases were reported in November.

The November spike in case numbers was common across Minnesota. Before the month was over, Gov. Tim Walz issued a dial back, forcing bars and restaurants to close again.

December saw a drop in the county’s COVID cases, but it was still the second-worst month with 586 confirmed COVID cases. January and February saw case numbers flat line with a little over 200 cases reported in both months.

Moritz said compared to the surge of November and December, Brown County is doing better, though the county does have a relatively higher per capita case rate than other counties in the region.

Going forward, the COVID-19 vaccine rollout is a source of optimism.

The first few healthcare workers at New Ulm Medical Center (NUMC) received the Pfizer vaccine in December. NUMC and other facilities began receiving doses of the vaccines every week. Recently the vaccine has been made available to those 65 years and older.

According to the Minnesota Department of Health; 6,200 Brown County residents have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 3,134 have completed the dose series. This means 12.5% of Brown County residents have been vaccinated against COVID-19.

NUMC has expanded the vaccine to any patient ages 65 and older. Previously, patients 65 and older were selected by lottery, but are now all seniors are invited to sign up for their vaccine appointments.

There are three ways to sign up: online through their Allina Health Account (website or app), call the Allina Health appointment scheduling line at 612-262-5533, or call New Ulm Medical Center at 507-217-5011.

NUMC, Sleepy Eye Medical Center and Brown County Public Health are all working in coordination to administer the vaccine. Public Health is hoping to begin vaccinating food processing workers in near future.

Hy-Vee of New Ulm, Walmart of New Ulm and Thrifty White in Springfield are also administering vaccines on the federal retail program and are prioritizing those 65 and older and those with underlying conditions.

“It think we’re doing well,” Moritz said. “I am cautiously optimistic we will be vaccinating the general public by May.”

She said Public Health does have plans in place for vaccinating more of the county, but a greater supply of the vaccine is needed.