415,302 positive cases (2,204 new), 397,080 off isolation (96 percent) 5.5 million tests, 3 million people tested (about 52 percent of the population) 6.6 percent seven-day positive test rate (officials find 5 percent concerning) Known, active cases of the disease continue to fall and are now near 13,000, having peaked around 50,000 a month ago, part of an overall slowdown in caseloads since their late November, early December peak. The state has reported 97,099 new positive cases of COVID-19 in December, a volume of new cases second only to November’s 170,000-case record. Hospitalization trends have also improved significantly over the past two weeks. As of Wednesday, 895 people were in the hospital with COVID-19 in Minnesota, with 196 of those patients needing intensive care. Both numbers are down by about half from their late November peaks.