Brookings County has its first COVID-19 case

Brookings County has it’s first positive COVID-19 test. There are two new positives and one is in Brookings County, the other new case is in Beadle County.

Governor Kristi Noem says the Brookings County case is travel related.

At a press conference just before noon, Governor Noem says she’s asking the state’s schools to remain closed until May 1st.

There are now 30 positive cases of COVID-19 in South Dakota and one fatality linked to the disease. There have been 790 negative tests.

Brookings Health System President and CEO Jason Merkley issued a statement today. He says, “our local health system is prepared and continuously planning with the city, county and state officials to care for our community and surrounding area.”

Merkley says there is currently no indication of community transmission in the county.  However, he says, we must remain vigilant to slow the spread of this virus. Merkley says we must continue social distancing, frequent hand washing and all other standard precautions.  He says we must do this to protect our family, friends and neighbors and to prevent overwhelming local healthcare resources.

For more information, check out the Brookings Health System website.

The latest state information is available at the Department of Health website.