Statewide COVID-19 Positive Total Just Under 2,000
South Dakota health officials report 98 new COVID-19 cases. The statewide total is now 1,956. That total includes 119 hospitalizations, nine deaths and 1,064 people who’ve fully recovered.
82 of the new cases are in Minnehaha County. Other counties with new cases are Brown, Hughes, Jerauld, Lincoln, McCook, Turner, Union and Yankton.
Health officials say 9 of the 28 total cases in Brown County are connected to the DemKota beef plant in Aberdeen. Secretary of Health Kim Malsam-Rysdon says a team from the Department of Health is working with city and plant leaders to mitigate the spread. The plant is adjusting shift schedules to reduce the number of employees inside at a time but is continuing operations.
Governor Noem Says South Dakota Qualifies for Phase 1 of White House Guidelines
Governor Kristi Noem says South Dakota already qualifies for Phase 1 of the White House guidelines for reopening America. That phase includes existing precautions, like limiting groups of more than ten people and maintaining a physical distance from others while in public.
The president is also calling for adequate COVID-19 testing capacity. Governor Noem says she and the state’s congressional delegation are continuing to advocate for testing supplies in South Dakota.
“We’re in a much better spot with testing supplies than we were 2-3 weeks ago for sure. But do we have enough? Not yet. I still would like to be more aggressive in our testing capability because it allows me to identify folks quicker and get them isolated and slow down the spread even more.
Earlier this week the governor announced a review committee that includes representatives from the state’s three largest healthcare systems. The committee is examining guidelines set by the White House and will offer suggestions on how to implement the federal standards locally.
Racetracks Opt to Race Without Fans
Two South Dakota racetracks will NOT let fans in to see races this weekend.
Park Jefferson International Speedway and The New Raceway Park say they will still hold races. However, spectators will NOT be able to watch the events in person at the racetracks near North Sioux City. Video feeds of the races will be available instead.
The tracks had planned to sell hundreds of tickets for the Saturday and Sunday events. But both tracks came under pressure from the public and elected officials because of fears about fans spreading the coronavirus.
The tracks neighbor each other in the southeast corner of the state.
Feeding South Dakota Seeking Volunteers
The coronavirus has forced food shelves to change the way they distribute household supplies. They are reducing contact and allowing for social distancing during food pickups. Jennifer Stensas is the communications coordinator with Feeding South Dakota.
"We have brought on more mobile food distributions in rural areas, we've nearly tripled our workload. So we're making sure that those that are, are, are, you know, across the state no matter where you are. that everybody has access to food.”
Feeding South Dakota usually serves about 8,300 households a month. Estimates show it’s now helping 25,000 households a month.
Stensas hopes people will consider volunteering now when their support is critically needed.
“And we're still seeing a lot of people coming through that, you know, just need a break from the day to day of not being able to leave home and people that have been furloughed but want to be able to give and help still. So we're grateful for all of that.”
This week is National Volunteer Week.