South Dakota reports its highest active COVID case count since pandemic started

Jonathan Ellis, Sioux Falls Argus Leader
·1 min read

Active COVID-19 infections hit a record in South Dakota on Tuesday, with the state joining much of the rest of the world tracking record infections with the omicron variant.

The number of hospital beds occupied by a COVID-positive patient increased by eight to 315, about half of the peak set in November 2020. They included 78 who were in intensive care.

There were no new deaths reported Tuesday.

The report included testing conducted over the weekend. Another 4,110 people tested positive for the disease.

Active infections hit 20,475. The previous high was 19,240, which was reported by the department on Nov. 18, 2020.

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Minnehaha County residents accounted for 1,360 of the newest cases and Lincoln County had 396. Brown County recorded 135 while Codington County had 119.

Another 901 people received a first dose of COVID vaccine through the state vaccination program.

An Avera Health worker provides a COVID-19 test to a citizen on Wednesday, January 6, at a testing site set up in a former car dealership in Sioux Falls.
An Avera Health worker provides a COVID-19 test to a citizen on Wednesday, January 6, at a testing site set up in a former car dealership in Sioux Falls.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: South Dakota crosses record of 20,000 active COVID-19 infections