The weekend saw 659 new COVID-19 cases and 12 deaths in the north-central seven-county region.

Statewide, a record-breaking report on Saturday, Nov. 14, combined with another huge number of new cases Sunday counted 16,262 new cases. Those in Aitkin, Cass, Crow Wing, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Todd and Wadena counties accounted for 4% of the new cases, slightly outpacing the region’s share of the state’s population, which is 3.7%.

Crow Wing County led the way in terms of total cases with 211 confirmations reported Saturday and Sunday. But Aitkin County topped the list when it came to cases added per capita — 45.3 cases per 10,000 residents.

Of the 12 regional deaths reported by the Minnesota Department of Health over the weekend, five were Mille Lacs County residents, three were from Aitkin County, two from Todd County and one each from Crow Wing and Morrison counties. Age information was available Sunday for six of the deaths: two Aitkin County residents in their early 70s and one in their early 90s; a Mille Lacs County resident in their late 70s and one in their early 80s; and a Crow Wing County resident in their late 90s. Mille Lacs County now leads the area in terms of total deaths, counting 27 fatalities to Crow Wing’s 25.

Crow Wing County’s 14-day case count exceeded 1,000 for the first time over the weekend. The 1,090 cases reported in the last two weeks account for nearly half, or 45%, of all of the county’s confirmed COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic. Crow Wing has added new cases at an average pace of 90 cases per day in the last week.

Congregate care facilities

Among the growing list of congregate care facilities with COVID-19 exposures are 33 facilities in the region. This includes those newly listed Friday: Edgewood Brainerd Senior Living, Good Samaritan Society-Woodland in Brainerd, Diamond Willow Assisted Living in Little Falls, Aicota Assisted Living in Aitkin and Central Todd County Care Center in Clarissa. These facilities may not have ongoing transmission but did report an exposure from a COVID-19 case in a resident, staff person or visiting provider.

Facilities that have not reported a new exposure for a minimum of 28 days will be removed from the list. If a facility identifies a new exposure, it will once again be listed. The Clarissa facility was removed from the state’s list the previous week but was again listed Friday. Two area facilities fell off the list: Bridgeway Estates in Little Falls and Serenity Living Solutions in Sebeka.

Outbreak locations

Two more local restaurants were identified Friday by the state health department as the sites of COVID-19 outbreaks.

Added to the list were Perkins Restaurant and Bakery in Brainerd, with 17 cases tied to that location, nine of which reported only visiting Perkins; and Poncho and Lefty’s, which had 17 associated cases, 10 of which reported visiting only that establishment.

Though cases report visiting at least one of the investigated establishments, this may not be the true source of their infection, the health department notes on its list. Secondary cases — or further transmission from these cases to household members, co-workers or others — are not included in this report.

Doug Schultz, information officer with the health department, said Friday the agency is trying to move people away from focusing on the specific locations of outbreaks given the widespread nature of infection at this point.

“The spread is really happening everywhere and comes from all of us,” Schultz wrote in an email.

COVID-19 data as of Nov. 15

• Aitkin — 490 (+72 since Friday, Nov. 13), with 13 (+3) deaths.

• Cass — 922 (+89), with eight deaths.

• Crow Wing — 2,422 (+211), with 25 (+1) deaths.

• Mille Lacs — 1,039 (+72), with 27 (+5) deaths.

• Morrison — 1,384 (+115), with 16 (+1) deaths.

• Todd — 1,405 (+60), with 12 (+2) deaths.

• Wadena — 519 (+40), with six deaths.

NOTE: These numbers are cumulative since March 21 and many are out of isolation.