South Dakota reports 5 additional COVID-19 deaths as hospitalizations fall

The South Dakota Department of Health reported five additional deaths of people with COVID-19 on Monday and a slight decrease in hospitalizations.

The department also reported 1,887 new positive infections statewide. About one in four state residents have tested positive for COVID, but that number only represents those who have tested positive from tests administered through health care providers that are then reported to the state.

The 392 hospital beds occupied by COVID-positive patients were five fewer than the previous day. Eighty of those were occupying an intensive care bed.

More: COVID-19 ranks as third primary cause of death in South Dakota since 2021

The latest deaths were among two people aged 70-79 and three 80 or older. Four were men and one a woman. A total of 2,606 state residents who tested positive for COVID have died.

Minnehaha County residents accounted for 323 new infections and Lincoln County had 74. Codington County had 89 and Brown County 98.

Active infections increased to 36,247, with the state reporting 1,056 new recoveries.

An additional 1,584 doses of COVID vaccine were administered through the state program. Of those, 454 were first doses. Seventy-nine percent of the state's eligible population has received at least one dose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: South Dakota COVID update includes 5 deaths, 1,887 new positive cases