By Jo McMullen / Station Manager

There have been 62 confirmed positive tests of COVID-19 in Stearns, Benton, Sherburne and Wright counties combined, as of Tuesday morning.

The Minnesota Department of Health releases a daily situation update for COVID-19. They make it clear that not all suspected cases of COVID-19 are tested, so their data is not representative of the total number of people in Minnesota who have or had the disease.

Here’s the numbers in Central Minnesota: There are 18 confirmed cases in Stearns County, 3 cases in Benton County, 13 confirmed cases in Sherburne County and 27 cases in Wright County. Wright County has reported one death due to COVID-19.

The Minnesota Department of Health tracks a large number of data points, including overall state testing results, patients who no longer needing isolation, those still hospitalized, patient gender, race as well as likely exposure points including residence type such as private residence, prison and long term care centers.

The cases tested in Minnesota have been 51% female, 49% male and the remaining 1% unknown or missing.