South Dakota Sees Record Number of Single-Day COVID-19 Cases

Six months to the day that the first case of COVID-19 was reported in South Dakota, the state has set a new record for the most reported positive tests in a single day.

The South Dakota Department of Health website revealed 445 new cases of COVID-19, Wednesday (September 23), bringing the number of total cases in the state to 19,634 since March 23, when the first positive results were announced in South Dakota.

The previous single-day high in South Dakota was 413 positive tests on September 17.

202 people have died in the state since the pandemic began.

A record number of people (192) are currently hospitalized in South Dakota. More than 3,000 active cases remain (3,108).

Over the past two weeks, the state has seen the nation’s second-highest number of new cases per capita, with the rolling average of daily new cases has increased by nearly a third.

The Associated Press is reporting that South Dakota’s seven-day average for COVID-19 test positivity remains among the highest in the nation, with nearly 18% of tests returning positive, according to the COVID Tracking Project.

College campuses appear to be at the center of this latest spike in COVID-19 numbers.

The Department of Health is reporting 1,172 cases tied to the state's universities.