PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota health officials report COVID-19 cases and its highly transmissible Delta Variant continued to rise across the state this past week.
In their weekly report, health officials reported during the past calendar week, August 1 through the 7, there were 90 cases per day reported to the Department of Health. This is an increase of 73-percent from the 52 cases per day reported during the previous week.
South Dakota reported 733 new cases of COVID-19 this past week, with 85 of those considered as probable. That is an increase of 304 from the previous week. Fifty-four of the new cases were the Delta Variant of the virus.
For the first time since early May, active cases in the state are above 1,000 at 1,149.
The number of hospitalizations increased dramatically from last week’s 36 to 75. In the Black Hills, there are 23 people hospitalized with 6 in the I.C.U. Four patients are on ventilators. Statewide, there are 13 patients in the I.C.U. and 7 on ventilators.
Despite the spike in the number of cases, just one new COVID-19 related death was reported. The new death was a Pennington County man in the 50 – 59 year age group. There have been 2,051 deaths since the pandemic began.
Around the Black Hills area, there were 179 new cases with 10 listed as probable.
Pennington County was the hardest hit, recording 115 new cases with 7 of them listed as probable. Meade County had the second most with 23 total, 3 of them listed as probable.
Custer and Fall River County each had 11 new cases over the past week and Lawrence County added 9.
Butte County reported 6 new cases and Oglala Lakota had 4.
As of Wednesday, 59.82% of the population 12-years-old and above has received at least one dose while 54.68% have completed the vaccination series.
