PIERRE, SD (AP) – South Dakota Department of Health officials have dropped the rate of community spread of the coronavirus from substantial to moderate in Pennington County, which includes the Rapid City area.
The county’s spread had been classified as substantial, which is the highest level, since May 2020. There have been a total of 13,022 positive tests in the county, including two in Monday’s daily report.
Statewide, health officials reported 26 new COVID-19 cases, for a total of 114,540 positive tests since the start of the pandemic. The number of deaths remained unchanged at 1,912.
Hospitalizations stayed the same for the second straight day at 64. Thirteen of those patients are being treated in intensive care units and six are on ventilators.
The update showed that the state has administered 307,059 doses of vaccine, with 34% of residents receiving at least one shot.
The COVID Tracking Project reports there were about 249 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people in South Dakota over the past two weeks, which ranks 17th in the country for new cases per capita. One in every 853 people in the state tested positive in the past week.
