On Wednesday, April 22, 2020 the South Dakota Department of Health released the latest numbers for COVID-19 cases in the state. South Dakota has a statewide total of 1,858 positive COVID-19 cases. Minnehaha County has 1,555 and Lincoln County has 104.
The data dashboard available online at COVID.sd.gov has been enhanced with additional features. Users are still unable to determine what communities in each county have positive cases. The total number of negative cases in South Dakota show 11,588 on April 22. Recovered cases show 93, cases ever hospitalized are 111, currently hospitalized cases are 62. Total COVID-19 deaths are listed at nine.
Specific to Lincoln County, of the 104 cases, 49 of those are listed as active on April 22, and 55 cases are listed as recovered. Five of those cases have ever been hospitalized, data does not show if those cases are currently hospitalized.
On Monday, Governor Kristi Noem asked residents in a press conference to continue to practice mitigation efforts such as social distancing, even though people are getting anxious to get back to normal as warm weather arrives. The state is still projected to peak in mid-June.
Governor Noem also announced that a medical review committee is being formed to review President Trump’s plan to reopen the economy and create a South Dakota-specific plan to reopen the state’s economy.
The State of Emergency in South Dakota has been extended until May 31, 2020.
Governor Noem’s Executive Order 2020-13, a mandatory order for Lincoln and Minnehaha County, that states to flatten the curve and slow down hospitalizations due to the spread of COVID-19, adults over the age of sixty-five (65) and people of any age who have serious underlying medical conditions, collectively referred to as “Vulnerable Individuals,” shall stay at home or a place of residence if possible, except for vulnerable individuals to work in a critical infrastructure sector job or to conduct essential errands. The stay at home issuance for is in effect in Lincoln and Minnehaha County until April 27, 2020.
The South Dakota National Guard has also been called to help the fight against COVID-19. There will be locations set up in Rapid City and Sioux Falls to assist east and west river healthcare systems with COVID-19 cases. The alternate care facility in Sioux Falls will be at the Regional Training Institute. The site will be set up to support up to 100 medical beds.
Rapid City’s location is at the state National Guard’s headquarters at Camp Rapid.
Governor Noem also encouraged South Dakotans to download the Care19 app. This is a location tracking app for your mobile device that will help the South Dakota Department of Health understand and predict infection rates in South Dakota. It will be used to plan better for testing and prepare healthcare services needed to fight the virus. The app will serve as a tool to speed up the disease investigation process, officials state. The initial version is only available for Apple and Android devices.
For the latest information on state response to COVID-19, visit COVID.sd.gov or call 1-800-997-2880.