BROOKINGS – The state is reporting 445 new COVID-19 cases and no new deaths in South Dakota Wednesday.
Eight of the new cases are in Brookings County.
Brookings County cases have risen to 704 total positive cases (eight new Wednesday): 586 of those people have recovered (eight new), with 116 active cases (no change) and two deaths. A total of 4,317 people (25 new) have tested negative in Brookings County as of Wednesday, and 10 people 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 19,634 (445 new) as of midday Wednesday, according to the South Dakota Department of Health.
Of the statewide cases, 3,108 are classified as active (up by 291 from Tuesday). As of Wednesday, 16,324 people have recovered (154 new), 1,367 people have been hospitalized at some point (44 new), 192 people are currently hospitalized (up by 14), and 202 people have died (no change).
Current hospitalizations may include out-of-state cases, and total hospitalizations only include South Dakota residents.
The SDDOH website reports 160,498 people have tested negative (1,341 new) in South Dakota.
South Dakota's test positivity rate for the last week is at 11.3%, and 11.1% for the last two weeks, according to the SDDOH website. Brookings County’s test positivity rate for the last week is at 17.6%, and 15.6% for the last two weeks.
Increases in positive cases Wednesday included, but are not limited to, 16 in Beadle County, 15 in Brown, 16 in Codington, 19 in Hughes, 20 in Lawrence, 28 in Lincoln, 12 in Meade, 90 in Minnehaha, 50 in Pennington, 15 in Tripp and 12 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 Wednesday, 32 students and four faculty/staff were self-reporting current (active) positive tests. A total of 140 faculty, staff and students were quarantined and isolated as of Wednesday, 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 six active cases, as of noon Wednesday: two from Brookings High School, two 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.
