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We can’t afford to let our guard down

We recently celebrated the fact that the state recorded zero deaths from COVID-19 on Monday, March 22. It was an encouraging sign, we said, but we expected that more deaths and more cases would come in the future.

On Thursday, the state reported a daily new case count of 2,140 cases, the first day since Jan. 10 that the states new cases topped 2,000. And since that death-free day on March 22, the state has recorded 78 more deaths.

So, the battle against the COVID-19 virus is far from over. The state is making headway in the number of vaccinations — 1.6 million people in Minnesota have had at least one dose of the vaccine, and a little over 1 million have received both doses.

We are hoping the weekly allocation of vaccines to the state and the county will allow more people to be protected.

In the meantime, as always we encourage people to take measures to protect themselves and others — wear facemasks in public, keep yourselves socially distanced, avoid large gatherings when you can, wash hands frequently and thoroughly, and take care of yourself — get plenty of sleep and stay home if you’re feeling sick.

We’ve been at this for a year now, and we see hopeful signs, such as state tournaments being held and the Major League Baseball season opening. The governor is starting to relax some of his restrictions and rescind some orders, but as the numbers show, we can’t afford to let our guard down.

The battle continues.

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