HURON — The month of November continued a deadly trend as October nearly doubled the number of deaths the state had tallied entering the month, and November actually accomplished the feat, and then some.
November began with 425 total COVID-related deaths reported in South Dakota. After reporting from the South Dakota Department of Health (DOH) on Monday, the final tally of November’s virus-related deaths just in the month of November was 521. The state now has recorded 946 total deaths since the first death related to the pandemic on March 11.
The month of November also saw monthly marks in new positive cases and new hospitalizations that were broken in a significant way in October shattered with the numbers in the month of November.
October saw 23,603 new positive cases, finishing the month with 45,992 cases. The month of November added 34,472 new positive cases to the rolls, crossing the 80,000 positive case mark on the final day of the month, finishing with 80,464 total positive cases of the virus in the state.
New hospitalizations set a high mark in October with 1,135 new hospitalizations in the month, leaving the state with 2,683 total hospitalizations entering November. Hospitalizations in November exceeded that October mark, reaching 1,819 new hospitalizations in the month. The state now has totaled 4,502 hospitalizations due to complications from the virus.
Beadle County followed suit with the state’s increases, adding 929 new positive cases in November after adding 534 in October. The county has now totaled 2,278 positive cases.
Virus-related deaths in Beadle also rose notably in November. October saw the county double its worst month of the pandemic with six deaths in the month. In November, the county more than doubled that number again, adding 14 deaths in the month. Overall, Beadle has tallied 29 virus-related deaths.
Within the seven-county Heartland Region, numbers spiked in October in accordance with the rest of the state, as 1,194 new positive cases were noted along with 22 deaths, both new highs by a significant amount for the region.
November saw the region add 1,898 new positive cases and 37 new deaths, topping October’s numbers. Interestingly, while individual tests went up very slightly between the two months as November recorded 315 more individual tests, 149 less people were actually tested to come to the increased numbers, as 3,140 individuals were tested in November compared to 3,289 individuals tested in October.
