New coronavirus cases leaped in South Dakota in the week ending Sunday, rising 15% as 842 cases were reported. The previous week had 732 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.
South Dakota ranked 22nd among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the latest week coronavirus cases in the United States decreased 7.7% from the week before, with 298,674 cases reported. With 0.27% of the country’s population, South Dakota had 0.28% of the country’s cases in the last week. Across the country, 13 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.
Codington County reported 35 cases and one death in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 29 cases and no deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 9,653 cases and 104 deaths.
Lac qui Parle County reported 14 cases and no deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported six cases and no deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 2,022 cases and 29 deaths.
Within South Dakota, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Corson County with 245 cases per 100,000 per week; Spink County with 220; and Todd County with 206. The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.
Adding the most new cases overall were Pennington County, with 139 cases; Minnehaha County, with 136 cases; and Brown County, with 66. Weekly case counts rose in 30 counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week’s pace were in Pennington, Brown and Davison counties.
>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases
Across South Dakota, cases fell in 26 counties, with the best declines in Dewey County, with 8 cases from 29 a week earlier; in Lincoln County, with 30 cases from 48; and in Oglala Lakota County, with 21 cases from 35.
In South Dakota, 12 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, four people were reported dead.
A total of 262,213 people in South Dakota have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 3,033 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 96,699,237 people have tested positive and 1,062,564 people have died.
>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States
South Dakota’s COVID-19 hospital admissions rising
USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, Oct. 9. Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:
- Last week: 138
- The week before that: 132
- Four weeks ago: 132
Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:
- Last week: 50,835
- The week before that: 49,835
- Four weeks ago: 58,231
Hospitals in 18 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 15 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 29 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.
The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com.
