South Dakota Records a 9th Death from COVID-19
South Dakota Department of Health officials report 104 new COVID-19 cases and another death.
The statewide total is 1,858 COVID-19 cases. That total includes 9 deaths, 11 hospitalizations and 824 people who’ve fully recovered.
87 of the new cases are in Minnehaha County. Other counties with case increases are Brown, Davison, Hughes and Turner.
Daktronics Still Running Full Operations
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many businesses to shut down, but one South Dakota company remains in operation. Jay Parker is a Vice President at Daktronics in Brookings. He told In the Moment their facility uses social distancing and zoning in office spaces.
“We haven’t to date had any positive tests but if we do we can close off part of our manufacturing. The zones that individuals are in we can close... and hopefully it’s only one zone... we can close that area, clean it, disinfect it, and then wait for the next direction on when we can come back into that area and continue working.”
Parker says Daktronics leadership has been meeting every day since March to review conditions and monitor employee safety.
Hospital Funding Issues Force Furloughs
Healthcare workers are essential during a pandemic to keep up with increasing numbers of patients. But hospitals around the country and in South Dakota are laying off hospital staff.
Workers at more than 170 U.S. hospitals or health systems have lost their jobs. That includes the Avera and Monument health systems in South Dakota. The layoffs come despite 100 billion dollars in a Congressional package for hospitals.
Mark Thompson is the CFO for Monument Health in Rapid City. Monument’s share of that Congressional support equaled 16 million dollars.
“It was nowhere close to enough to offset the losses, or the lost revenue and increased expenses.”
Like other providers, Monument has shut down elective surgeries and other routine activities to create space for COVID-19 patients. At the same time, there are fewer patients at clinics and emergency rooms. Even with congressional funding, Thompson says they expect to bring in 30 million dollars less than expected this fiscal year.
At the same time, Thompson says, providers are spending more money. They’re buying personal protective equipment, outfitting extra space for COVID patients, and telehealth improvements.
“On one hand we were pumping the brakes because of volumes declining. On the other hand we were pushing the accelerator because we were planning for expected capacity that we’ve been talking about for the last several weeks.”
More help is on the way from Congress. A bill working its way to the president’s desk this week includes another 75 billion dollars for hospitals. But Thompson says he doesn’t know what Monument’s share will be, or if it’ll help them bring hospital staff back to work.