A sharp uptick in positive COVID-19 tests in South Dakota has some health experts calling on the state to impose new restrictions to combat the spread of the virus.

A new map released by the Harvard Global Health Institute shows the Mount Rushmore State is one of four in the nation with 27 or more new daily cases per 100,000 people.

South Dakota is third-highest on the list at 33.7 cases, slightly ahead of Alabama's 27.2. Only Iowa (36.9) and North Dakota (34.2) had more positives over that same seven-day timeframe.

Based on the numbers, the HGHI is recommending that those four states consider instituting a lockdown.

According to the South Dakota Department of Health website, the state reported 240 new positive COVID-19 tests, Tuesday (September 1). That is the 17th straight day of triple-digit new cases in the state, after a period from May 9 to July 23 without a single-day of 100 or more new positive tests.

South Dakota's current positive test rate is 16.8 percent.

But it's not just our state that is an area of concern for health officials.

Data from Johns Hopkins University shows that cases were growing by 19 percent or more throughout the Midwest in Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

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