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ST. CLOUD — The number of patients who have tested positive for the new coronavirus jumped to 21 on Saturday — three of which are in Stearns County — according to the Minnesota Department of Health.

That's seven more cases statewide since Gov. Tim Walz gave a media briefing Friday to declare a peacetime emergency and make a series of recommendations to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, including canceling large gatherings.

The department announced Stearns County's first positive case of COVID-19 on Thursday. Another positive case was confirmed Friday, and the third positive case was confirmed Saturday during a media call with Infectious Disease Division Director Kris Ehresmann.

The first case was a Stearns County resident in their 60s who had returned from a cruise in the Caribbean on March 6.

The second infected Stearns County resident is a person in their 40s and the third is a person in their 60s.

SEE WHERE THE CASES ARE: Here's a map of coronavirus cases in Minnesota

The other new cases announced Saturday are: a teenager from Dakota County, patients in their 30s from Ramsey, Hennepin and Renville counties, and two patients in their 60s from Hennepin County.

Ehresmann said the department has not completed investigations for all the patients, but said for the ones that have been completed, there has been a clear link between the infected person and either someone confirmed to have COVID-19 or someone who has traveled.

MORE: Minnesota governor declares peacetime emergency, recommends against large gatherings

As of Saturday, 868 patients had been tested for COVID-19 in Minnesota. The confirmed cases are in Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Olmsted, Ramsey, Renville, Stearns and Wright counties.

Although the Dakota County resident is in their teens, they are not in school, Ehresmann said.

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Ehresmann said the department cannot provide information on whether the patients have underlying health conditions but said none of the patients confirmed Saturday are hospitalized.

The only confirmed COVID-19 patient in Minnesota who is hospitalized as of midday Saturday was an Anoka County resident in their 30s, who is in critical condition.

None of the new cases were transmissions of COVID-19 between people in Minnesota; all of the patients made contact with infected people outside the state, Ehresmann said.

MORE: What does a COVID-19 test look like? Learn that and more from a CentraCare doctor

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