On Tuesday, for the first time in over a year, the state of Minnesota Department of Health recorded fewer than 100 new cases of COVID-19. Only 95 new cases were reported for the first time since April 2020. And the state reported only one additional death.

According to Health and Human Services of Faribault and Martin Counties, Martin County has been seeing similar results. The last new cases of COVID in the county were reported on June 14, of which there were 13. There were only 3 acitve cases as of that time, with 2 hospitalizations. The estimated case rate per 10,000 for the past 14 days dropped to 3.51.

This is happening as the number of vaccinations continues to rise — not as rapidly as some would like, but still rising. About two-thirds of Minnesotans 16 and older have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

In Martin County, 8,962 have received one dose as of Wednesday, and 8,541 have received both doses. That’s almost half of the county’s population.

It would seem clear that as the number of vaccinations goes up, the number of new cases has been falling. We’d like to see this trend continue.