BROOKINGS – The state is reporting 463 new COVID-19 cases and eight new deaths in South Dakota Thursday.

Fifteen of the new cases are in Brookings County.

Brookings County cases have risen to 719 total positive cases (15 new Thursday): 596 of those people have recovered (10 new), with 121 active cases (up by five) and two deaths. A total of 4,362 people (45 new) have tested negative in Brookings County as of Thursday, and 11 people (one new) in the county have been hospitalized at some point, the state reported.

Brookings County remains in the “substantial” community spread category.

The number of South Dakotans who have tested positive for COVID-19 rose to 20,097 (463 new) as of midday Thursday, according to the South Dakota Department of Health.

Of the statewide cases, 3,291 are classified as active (up by 183 from Wednesday). As of Thursday, 16,596 people have recovered (272 new), 1,375 people have been hospitalized at some point (eight new), 194 people are currently hospitalized (up by two), and 210 people have died (eight new).

Current hospitalizations may include out-of-state cases, and total hospitalizations only include South Dakota residents.

The SDDOH website reports 161,564 people have tested negative (1,066 new) in South Dakota.

The new deaths, three women and five men, are being reported in Brown, Butte, Hughes, Minnehaha (2), Pennington, Union and Walworth counties. The age ranges of the deceased are one 70-79 years and seven in the 80-plus years category.

The deaths reported on the SDDOH data dashboard are deaths for which COVID-19 is listed as a cause or contributing factor on the certified death record, Communications Director Derrick Haskins said.

South Dakota's test positivity rate for the last week is at 13.3%, and 11.4% for the last two weeks, according to the SDDOH website. Brookings County’s test positivity rate for the last week is at 17.2%, and 14.8% for the last two weeks.

Increases in positive cases Thursday included, but are not limited to, 15 in Beadle County, 15 in Brookings, 35 in Brown, 23 in Codington, 19 in Davison, 16 in Hughes, 11 in Lawrence, 13 in Lincoln, 13 in Meade, 70 in Minnehaha, 51 in Pennington, 12 in Tripp and 10 in Yankton.

The counties with the highest total case counts are Minnehaha (6,383), Pennington (2,091), Lincoln (1,251), Brown (1,067) and Codington (757).

According to the South Dakota State University COVID-19 dashboard, as of noon Thursday, 26 students and three faculty/staff were self-reporting current (active) positive tests. A total of 131 faculty, staff and students were quarantined and isolated as of Thursday, with 24 of those in campus facilities.

A new Brookings School District COVID-19 dashboard, located at https://www.brookings.k12.sd.us/domain/510, reports that the district has five active cases, as of noon Thursday: two from Brookings High School, one from Mickelson Middle School, one from Camelot Intermediate School and one from Dakota Prairie Elementary.

The state Department of Health generally does not identify the specific communities within a county where cases are located, or a business, event or setting that may be the source of a surge to protect patient confidentiality.

Only a few exceptions are made, such as clusters when there are 40 or more cases identified in a single workplace/setting. The DOH will also issue a public health notice when an employee or patron of a business/event is unable to identify persons they were in close contact with (15 or more minutes within 6 feet or less) while able to transmit the virus.

The actual number of infections in the state is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested and studies suggest people can be infected without feeling sick.

The figures released by the state Department of Health do not include individuals who are asymptomatic or have symptoms of the coronavirus but are not being tested.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.

Learn more at www.covid.sd.gov.