With the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in the rear-view mirror, cases of COVID-19 in the Black Hills are spiking. More than half of the 376 new infections reported Wednesday in South Dakota came from Black Hills counties.
The state's most populous county, Minnehaha County, reported 61 new infections Wednesday. Minnehaha County has 464 active cases. Lincoln County only added 17, with 119 active cases.
Pennington County, meanwhile, continues to lead the state with 85 positive tests Wednesday. Meade County, the official home of the rally, added 52 and neighboring Lawrence County recorded 41 positive tests.Â
Active cases in the Black Hills continue to grow, as well. Pennington County reached levels not seen since Jan. 25 with 406 active cases. Meade County has 132 active infections and Lawrence County has 106.
Butte County reported 17 positive tests Wednesday and Custer County had seven. Fall River County reported four new infections.
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Brookings County added 12 new infections and there were 10 in Codington County. Corson County reported eight positive tests and there were five in Union County. Yankton County had four new infections and Hughes, Brown and Turner counties each reported three. Spink and Beadle counties each reported two cases.
A man in his 20s from Brule County became the 2,056th South Dakota resident to die from COVID-19 illness during the pandemic. Hospitalizations jumped by 13 to 105. One month ago, only 38 people were in South Dakota hospitals because of COVID-19 illnesses. There are 35 patients in ICU with 19 on ventilators. Forty-two of the patients are in Black Hills hospitals — compared to only 10 a month ago — with 12 in ICU and seven on ventilators.
Children under 19 made up 62 of the 376 new infections and people in their 20s accounted for 79 more. Thirty-four people over 70 tested positive for Wednesday's report.