The state Department of Health hopes to start reporting a breakdown of negative COVID-19 test results by county.
Nearly 8,700 people have tested negative so far.
Rapid City officials say that information can reassure the public in areas with low numbers of active cases.
The state reports Pennington County has 9 total positive COVID-19 cases. Six people have recovered and one person died.
That leaves two active cases for the county that’s home to Rapid City… South Dakota’s second largest city. Compare that to Minnehaha County which has 934 positive cases.
Rapid City Mayor Steve Allender says the big difference in the number of positive cases between the two cities has made some residents wonder how much COVID-19 testing is taking place in west river.
“There’s a lack of information,” Allender says. “In a situation laced with some panic, that type of information would be helpful.”
Allender says the city can’t gather data on the total test results. That’s because test results get sent to private labs and the state lab. He says the low number of cases in Pennington County shakes out with what Monument Health is reporting to his office.
Kim Malsam-Rysdon is the state’s Secretary of Health. She says the department is working to get data out on the number of negative test results.
“I’m very hopeful we will be seeing that level of breakdown in a matter of days,” Malsam-Rysdon says. “We will continue to refine the amount of data that we are able to provide to be as helpful as possible.”
As the number of cases in the state continues to rise, state projections show peak number of cases will be lower than original estimates.
