The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Minnesota climbed past 35,000 on Saturday, as state health officials expressed concerns that younger adults aren’t doing enough to prevent the virus’ spread.

People in their 20s now make up the largest age group of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Minnesota.

The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Minnesota dropped sharply, from 335 on Friday to 300 in Saturday's report.

Friday’s Health Department data showed that Minnesotans in their 20s now make up the largest age group of confirmed cases in Minnesota — 7,045 people infected, with two deaths.

Ehresmann on Friday noted that some of the people who tested positive in Mankato work in child care, pointing out that they have a high likelihood of inadvertently spreading the disease to children and families.

That includes Mower County in southeastern Minnesota, where there were 868 confirmed cases as of Friday.

While some of Mower County’s positive cases are associated with people who work in the facilities and with the people they live with, county officials say they are also seeing transmission among people who live in the county but work in other counties where coronavirus is present.

Nobles, in southwestern Minnesota, reported 1,643 confirmed cases Friday.

About 1 in 14 people now have tested positive for COVID-19 in the county since the pandemic began, although the count of new cases has slowed considerably in recent weeks.

Similar problems have been reported in Stearns County, where COVID-19 cases tied to two packing plants — Pilgrim’s Pride poultry plant in Cold Spring and Jennie-O Turkey in Melrose — skyrocketed in May.

Kandiyohi County in west-central Minnesota is also dealing with a significant caseload more than two months after officials with the Jennie-O turkey processing plant there said some employees had tested positive for the coronavirus.

As of Friday, the Health Department reported 564 people have now tested positive in the county, the same as Thursday.

The county had confirmed three COVID-19 cases in late April.

The Minnesota Department of Corrections on Thursday reported a 43-year-old inmate at the Faribault prison has died nearly three weeks after testing positive for the coronavirus.

If the Hennepin County Medical Examiner determines that his death was related to COVID-19 complications, it would be the first COVID-19-related death of a Minnesota inmate.