BROOKINGS – The state is reporting three new deaths and 94 new positive coronavirus cases Saturday.
The number of South Dakotans who have tested positive for COVID-19 rose to 4,960 as of midday Saturday, up 94 from Friday’s data, according to the South Dakota Department of Health.
Brookings County cases remain at 16 positive tests, and 15 of those people have recovered. There have been 655 negative tests in Brookings County as of Saturday, the state reported.
Of the 4,960 statewide cases, 1,093 are classified as active (up by 30 from Friday). So far, 3,805 people have recovered (61 new), 427 people have been hospitalized at some point (nine new), 93 people are currently hospitalized (down by two), and 62 people have died.
The new deaths, all women, are from Beadle (two) and Pennington (one) counties. The age ranges of the deceased are 20-29 years old, 40-49 years old, and 60-69 years old.
There have been 37,978 total negative tests (2,162 new) in South Dakota. Of those, laboratories have reported 2,648 negative tests to the SDDOH that are not assigned to specific counties.
The county with the most positive tests in South Dakota is Minnehaha, with 3,345 as of midday Satuday, up by 15 since Friday. Increases in positive cases Saturday also include, but are not limited to, 30 in Beadle County, five in Buffalo, five in Meade, four in Oglala Lakota, 17 in Pennington and three in Todd.
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.
Learn more at www.covid.sd.gov.
