PIERRE — Governor Kristi Noem confirmed a 14th person in Beadle County has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, at her daily news conference Thursday morning.
Nome covered the latest information COVID-19 in the state. She noted the numbers in the state will begin to look significantly different and could continue to rise in leaps and bounds, as five more positive cases were confirmed statewide Thursday, bringing the state’s positive total to 46.
Noem addressed the massive increase in negative tests that have shown up on the state’s website over the last two days as getting information from out-of-state private labs. The 1,973 negative tests still does not constitute all the negative tests that have been run, but it’s a significantly higher percentage, and it gives a much more clear picture of the testing data in the state.
She also was pleased to announce that 16 of the cases have now recovered, which means they can continue to participate in daily living activities within the community if needed, though she still emphasized that maintaining social distancing is what has allowed the state to potentially avoid a massive rush of positive tests that could overwhelm the medical system of the state.
Finally, with testing supplies adequate at the state level and private labs at Avera and Sanford potentially fully ready to test as soon as the end of Thursday, the state would have a capacity of nearly 800 tests per day that could be run. Most importantly, the governor was excited to report that by Monday, pending tests at the state lab should all be cleared up, allowing all labs in the state to test new tests as they arrive, without any potential backlog.
Gov. Noem has a phone call planned for Thursday evening with state legislators to review a number of items. First and foremost, she intends to address the state budget and the changes that may need to be made due to the significant change in revenue due to COVID-19. She also plans to address two bills that she vetoed for procedural reasons, hoping to get the work to get those bills edited for her to sign done before Monday’s conference call with the full legislature. Finally, she intends to address local elections and a plan for safely conducting local elections throughout the state.
Noem reported that the state received 1,703 new unemployment claims last week. That was an increase of over 1,500 from the previous week.
She stated that while that is a potentially alarming number for some, the state has received nearly that many claims EACH DAY this week, so the number next week and for many weeks going forward could be significantly higher.
When asked about the federal stimulus bill that passed the Senate late Wednesday evening, Noem expressed that she was pleased to see that states would be reimbursed for additional costs related to COVID-19. However, she was disappointed to see that the bill did not address funding revenue loss experienced by states due to COVID-19.
Noem stated, “I don’t think South Dakota will be ‘back on track’ for months, many months.” She is hoping Congress will address state revenue when they reconvene, or potentially through video or phone conferencing to encourage social distancing.
The governor reiterated her pleasure with the efforts by residents of the state, which have already allowed new positive cases to come at a more measured pace than original projections told. “You have all been fantastic,” Noem stated, referring to S.D. residents, “and it has made all the difference.”
