BROWN COUNTY — Brown County has surpassed 5,000 cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic 21 months ago.

With Brown County’s population at approximately 25,000, this means 20%, or one-in-five of all county residents have contracted the virus since March 2020.

Though Brown County has passed 5,000 cases, last week statistics from Brown County Public Health show a decrease in new cases; dropping from 60 a week to 50 a week. Brown County was averaging over 90 cases a week at the start of the month, but the numbers have dropped the last few weeks.

The drop in case numbers could represent the start of a downward trend, but it could also mean positive cases are going unreported. At-home COVID testing is more common. The lower positive numbers could mean people are testing positive at home and not reporting it to the state.

Since the start of the pandemic, some people with the virus have experienced no symptoms. People experiencing no symptoms are unlikely to test.

There are also people with symptoms that refuse to test. For these reasons, the true number of people infected with COVID-19 will never be known.

Hospitalizations in Minnesota remain high. Currently 79% of the state’s hospitals are without available ICU beds. In south central Minnesota only three ICU beds are available, and only 20 are available statewide.

The decrease in case numbers could be contributed to low reporting, but the county continues to record new COVID related deaths.

Another COVID related death was reported in Brown County this week, a person in their 80s. This is the ninth COVID death reported in December 2021. The county has seen 66 COVID deaths since the pandemic began.

Going into the last week of 2021, there is a concern COVID-19 cases will spike following the Christmas holiday and New Year’s celebrations.

Public health is encouraging everyone to test for COVID before attending holiday get-togethers. If attending large indoor gatherings, masking is still recommended even for those who are vaccinated.