11 additional people have died after contracting COVID-19

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - Eleven more people have died after contracting the coronavirus in North Dakota, state health officials said Friday.

The deaths included men and women whose ages ranged from the 30s to the 90s and all had underlying health conditions, according to the Department of Health.

The 11 who died were in Burleigh, McHenry, McKenzie, Mountrail, Nelson, Ramsey, Renville, Richland, Stark and Ward counties.

There are 651 positive COVID-19 cases since Thursday, for a total of 26,040 positive individuals since since the pandemic began this spring.

Burleigh County, which encompasses Bismarck, had the most additional positive cases with 127, followed by 112 additional cases in Cass County where North Dakota’s most populous city of Fargo is located.

Health officials said an additional seven people are hospitalized with the virus for a total of 132 current hospitalizations.

A North Dakota hospital executive said Thursday he understands concerns about the amount of hospital beds available for COVID-19 patients, yet believes medical facilities around the state are ready to adapt to meet the challenge.

Sanford Health Bismarck President Michael LeBeau’s said capacity is a “significant challenge” and that residents who have become accustomed to convenient access to health care will need to adapt to longer wait times, different methods of care and possible transfers to other facilities.

There were 231 available staffed inpatient beds plus 30 intensive care unit beds in North Dakota on Thursday afternoon, according to the most recent state data available.