SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - South Dakota health officials reported seven more COVID-19-related deaths on Saturday, bringing the state’s death toll to 1,775 since the start of the pandemic.
The Department of Health also reported 116 newly confirmed cases of the virus. According to Saturday’s data, there are 2,894 active cases of COVID-19 in the state. The Argus Leader reports that is the first time the active number of cases has fallen below 3,000 since Sept. 22, when the state reported 2,817 active infections.
The state reported that 142 people remained hospitalized, a decrease of seven from the day before.
As of Saturday, 97,415 doses of the vaccine have been administered to a total of 69,450 people. Of those who have received the vaccine, 27,965 of them have received two doses.
The latest average positivity rate in South Dakota is 23.17% - down from a seven-day rolling average of 30.55% two weeks ago. State health departments are calculating positivity rate differently across the country, but The Associated Press calculates the rate by dividing new cases by people tested using data from The COVID Tracking Project.
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