UNDATED – The South Dakota Department of Health reported one positive COVID-19 test over the past 24 hours in its latest report issued today.
The positive case is out of Minnehaha County, where there are now four positive cases of COVID-19.
The new case is a male in his 20’s who had limited contact with others and had a travel history.
The South Dakota Department of Health is updating the daily report on their website, COVID.SD.GOV – residents can go there to get the latest news and prevention efforts concerning the virus.
Also, the department reports there have been 494 negative tests for COVID-19, and for the first time, there are no test results pending.
Governor Kristi Noem today released more information on the one person who has died and says tests indicate that person did die of COVID-19. The male was a resident of Pennington County, but died in Davison County. Noem says the individual did not make it back to Pennington County during the time he was sick. She offered her condolences to the family today.
Noem says there is still no community wide spread of the virus and they are anticipating commercial lab testing to come online in South Dakota this week.
“We continue to work with providers to get notification to patients more quickly. Commercial lab testing will help with that process and we expect commercial lab testing come online in South Dakota this week. Up until this point, we’ve been able to get test results back to patients within 24 hours, but like other labas, we’ve had to change our methods to get the supplies to run those tests. As we get the supplies to run these tests, we’ll continue to prioritize those presumptive COVID-19 tests.”
She continues to urge state residents to be proactive.
“The situation remains serious, but we are proactive. And I remind everyone to be proactive and take care of yourself and your family. Wash your hands often. I can’t stress that enough. Stay home if you are not feeling well. If you are not feeling well, call your health provider and they will put you through a protocol to determine if you need to be tested or not.”
Noem also says grocery store supply chains are good, so people should not worry about running out of supplies at their grocery store.
The Department today also released guidelines for child care facilities across the state.
The Department of Social Services has communicated CDC-recommended steps for cleaning and disinfection to all licensed and registered daycare facilities.
It is further stressing the need to employ mitigation strategies such as good hygiene, limiting entry into the facility by putting into practice child drop off at the front door and ensuring employees who are sick do not report to work.
The Department of Social Services is asking childcare providers to be flexible with staff who are ill or caring for sick family members and recommends contingency planning for staff shortages in order to meet staff-to-child ratios.
It is also asking providers to work with parents to identify children with special health conditions that place them at higher risk and take appropriate precautions.
Listen to Monday’s Press Conference by visiting our On Demand page here:
