HURON — When the month of May began, Beadle County was in the midst of a long stand without a positive case. The last positive case announced in the county was on the first day of April. With the announcement of a positive case usually taking 2-3 days after a positive test has been taken from a person, that meant that a person had not had a test taken in an entire month that tested positive.
The month of May continued until May 12 without a single positive test announced in the county. Even then, it was just one. While many attribute the recent increase in cases purely to increased testing, it is notable to remember that more than 100 tests were run over the 41 days that Beadle did not have a positive test that all showed negative. Including the one positive test on the 12th, on March 15, the county had completed 124 tests over 45 days with one positive test.
The announced tests on Saturday, May 16th sent the region into a frenzy. There were hints ahead of time that new positive tests were coming from major employers in the Huron area, but three confirmed positive tests showed up as eight positive tests that Saturday.
Wednesday, May 20th, the county experienced a new high mark for positive tests, with 25 positive tests announced that day. That high mark has been broken twice since, and only twice since that day has the county even had single-digit positive tests. There has not been a single day since May 16 without a positive test announced in Beadle County.
It’s not all about the positive tests, either. On May 15th, the county had two deaths and three hospitalizations, all within one extended family, that had occurred throughout the two-plus month run of the virus within the state. Over the past two weeks, Beadle has seen eight individuals in the hospital, including multiple that remain in the intensive care unit.
The county also saw three more deaths. Two are fairly spread in the community as through COVID-19 related passings, while one is still a mystery. One was the first loss of a person in the 20-29 year age group within the entire state of South Dakota. A mother with three young children who had been with Link Snacks, Inc. (LSI) for less than two years as a quality control inspector.
LSI is among a number of major employers in town that are impacted by the recent surge. LSI has seen more than 75 employees confirmed positive. Employers like Dakota Provisions, Center for Independence, and Huron Regional Medical Center have all confirmed employees being positive. The virus has torn through business, causing some to close, just weeks after they were re-opened after the city and county commissions allowed for all businesses to re-open under strict safety guidelines.
Beadle’s numbers have soared to 261 positive tests recorded in the county, 436 negative tests, 68 recovered cases, five deaths, and 11 cases ever hospitalized. Subtracting the recovered cases and deaths from the positive tests, Beadle enters June with 188 active positive cases within the county.
One “blessing” of the surge is the seen need for additional testing. As employers sent employees to be tested upon a positive test within their employ, the number of tests run within the county climbed significantly. With 697 tests run and announced through May 31, the county has tested 3.79% of the residents.
The surge of positive cases was not exclusive to Beadle County, however. Within the Heartland region, cases soared, with Jerauld and Sanborn counties noting spikes in positive cases due to numerous county residents working at LSI and other affected businesses.
Within the Heartland region, there have been 321 positive tests announced along with 1,337 negative tests. Of those positive cases, 101 have recovered and six have passed away, meaning that there are 214 active cases in the seven-county Heartland region. Sixteen residents of the region have been hospitalized with the virus. Testing has increased throughout the region, bringing the total to 4.02% of all residents tested as the month of May comes to a close.
June is projected to be the point at which the state reaches its peak. Beadle County’s projection line is currently trending steeply up toward further infections, hospitalizations, and death. The Beadle County unified COVID-19 task force in conjunction with Greater Huron Development put together a new campaign drawing on old “Smokey the Bear” campaigns. It is up to Huron, Beadle County, and Heartland region residents to reverse the trend to have a more positive outlook entering June. As the new campaign states, “only you” can make the changes to truly turn things around!
South Dakota is nearing 5,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, according to the South Dakota Department of Health.
