June 16, 2021

With 10 new cases reported today and 170 active infections, the state of South Dakota is discontinuing its monthly COVID-19 media briefings.

The Department of Health will continue to update case numbers on weekdays. Those have steadily declined with warmer weather and increased vaccination, averaging 12 to 13 new cases a day for the past two weeks.

“We are not all the way through the pandemic,” state epidemiologist Dr. Josh Clayton said, adding that a 70 percent statewide vaccination rate is still the goal “so we will not see a resurgence of COVID-19 in the state.”

Currently, 56 percent of eligible South Dakotans 12 and older have received one dose, and 51 percent have received the full series.

“I want to emphasize we have seen, similar to last year, decreasing case counts over the summer,” Clayton said. “There is increased risk of COVID-19 as a respirator pathogen in the fall, so while we’re seeing decreased case counts, we want to continue to vaccinate people.”

The state is securing vaccines on an as-needed bases but has ample supply, officials said. Free testing continues to be offered, including at-home kits.

Meanwhile, the Health Department is moving on to a new issue: implementing provisions of state law related to medical marijuana. Later this month, there will be opportunities for public input into the rules being drafted.