PIERRE, S.D. — South Dakota went from no COVID-19 cases to a possible five with one death in a matter of 24 hours.
South Dakota officials today announced the first positive cases of COVID-19 in the state.
Governor Kristi Noem and the South Dakota Department of Health announced five cases in which the person tested had a positive result for the virus. One of those involved a person in Pennington County, age 60-69, who died. That person had underlying medial conditions and testing is being done to determine if COVID-19 is responsible.
The other four cases are in Minnehaha, Beadle, Charles Mix and Davison County. Health Department Secretary Kim Malsom-Rysdon discusses the cases.
“The first case is a male in the 40-49 age group, the second is a male in the 50-59 age group, the third case is a female in the 30-39 age group, and the fourth case in the male in the 40-49 age group.”
She says the cases are all travel related and they are working to identify additional people who came in close contact with them.
In response to Tuesday’s news, Governor Noem says they will partially activate the state emergency operations center and in the meantime is asking citizens to take common sense steps to prevent the spread of the virus.
“Each of us can and should be taking common sense steps to prevent the spread of the virus. What this means is wash your hands frequently and staying home if you are sick. Given the news today it is clear that South Dakota’s health care systems are prepared to identify and treat COVID-19 in our state.”
The State Health Department has a website that will update people on the virus. It is COVID.SD.GOV.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. The vast majority of people recover from the new virus. The virus, however, hits those will weakened immune systems and the elderly the hardest.
Listen to the Governor’s Press Conference on the COVID-19 cases here:
https://kbhbradio.com/index.php?page=on-demand
*** THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED FROM OUR PREVIOUS VERSION BELOW***
PIERRE, S.D. — South Dakota officials have announced the first positive cases of COVID-19 in the state. Gov. Kristi Noem did not release how many people have tested positive.
She said the cases are travel related and that health officials are working to identify those who came into “close contact” with people with the virus.
She will hold a press conference on Tuesday afternoon.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. The vast majority of people recover from the new virus.
***(THIS STORY WILL BE UPDATED)***
