Jerauld County Resident is SD's 10th Death from COVID-19
South Dakota has crossed 2,000 COVID-19 cases, and another person has died.
State health officials are reporting 84 new cases for a statewide total of 2,040. They are also announcing a Jerauld County resident has died from the coronavirus.
The state total includes 124 hospitalizations, 10 deaths and 1,190 people who’ve fully recovered.
Most of the new cases are in Minnehaha County. Other counties with increases are Codington, Jerauld, Lake, Lincoln, Stanley and Union.
Casinos Now Qualify for Federal Relief
Casinos now qualify for the federal Paycheck Protection Program. South Dakota’s U.S. Senator Mike Rounds says the Small Business Administration will modify its rules to let casinos apply.
The federal SBA program makes forgivable loans to businesses with fewer than 500 employees. Originally, the loans were off limits to businesses that make more than a third of their revenue from gambling.
Deadwood casinos and tribal casinos can now apply for loans from the pandemic relief program. Congress recently agreed to restock the loan fund with 310 billion dollars.
SDSU Innovating New Respirator Design
Efforts to combat COVID-19 has fueled innovation. Researchers at South Dakota State University are developing a new respirator they hope will better prevent infection.
Saikat Basu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at South Dakota State University. Basu says inspiration came from the complex nose structures of animals like pigs and dogs.
“As that animal inhales air, the air has to go through that tortuous pathway and while doing that there are some different food mechanics – nuances that emerged – that would help to capture the droplets on the walls of that passage.”
Basu says materials like copper have also been used in designing the mask because of their potential to inactivate the virus. He says one benefit of the new mask is its potential for safe reuse.