Sioux Falls testing event still reflected in COVID-19 totals

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The increase in COVID-19 cases in South Dakota continued to reflect results from a mass testing event in the Sioux Falls area, with nearly 250 positive cases reported Saturday by health officials.

The report showed that 232 of the 249 new cases were in Minnehaha County. State Department of Health officials spent the last several days sorting out results from testing employees at the Smithfield pork processing plant in Sioux Falls, along with their family members.

A total of 435 people have tested positive in Minnehaha County in the last two days, for a total of 2.767 cases in the county.

The total number of cases statewide now stands at 3,393. Three new deaths were confirmed on Saturday, all of them Minnehaha County residents over the age of 70. The state’s death toll is up to 34.

Officials said 79 people are hospitalized with the virus.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.