Sioux Falls in Top 20 COVID-19 Hotspots in America

The city of Sioux Falls is accustomed to being included on a wide variety of lists touting the best places to live, retire, and raise a family in the United States, but the city's inclusion on a new list is nothing to brag about.

South Dakota's largest city is among the top 20 metropolitan areas in the country worst-hit by the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, according to data compiled by The New York Times.

Sioux Falls is 20th on the list.

The latest numbers from the South Dakota Department of Health don't break down the city's numbers specifically but do track the trends in Minnehaha County as a whole.

As of Tuesday (October 13), the county had 8,189 total cases reported since March with 88 fatalities and 6,747 recoveries.

Over the last seven days, the infection rate in Minnehaha County is right around 13 percent with 456 positives per 100,000 people. Community spread in the county is listed as 'substantial'.

Wisconsin cities account for half of the list and 60 percent of the top five, while four cities in neighboring states to South Dakota (Bismarck, ND; Dubuque, IA; Sioux City, IA; Minot, ND) are among the top 20.

TOP 20 METRO COVID-19 HOTSPOTS (New York Times)

1. Rexburg, Idaho
2. Oshkosh-Neenah, Wisconsin
3. Appleton, Wisconsin
4. Green Bay, Wisconsin
5. Bismarck, North Dakota
6. Sheboygan, Wisconsin
7. Amarillo, Texas
8. Kalispell, Montana
9. Manitowoc, Wisconsin
10. Seneca, South Carolina
11. Wausau-Weston, Wisconsin
12. Beaver Dam, Wisconsin
13. Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
14. Dubuque, Iowa
15. Sioux City, Iowa
16. Marinette, Wisconsin
17. Lubbock, Texas
18. Platteville, Wisconsin
19. Minot, North Dakota
20. Sioux Falls, South Dakota

More than 33.3 million have been infected with COVID-19 worldwide, with 1.7 positive tests in the United States.

In South Dakota, there have been 29,339 positives, 23,007 recoveries, 1,971 hospitalizations, and 288 deaths.