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South Dakota halts COVID-19 testing due to supply shortage

March 18, 2020 12:38PM CDT
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South Dakota halts COVID-19 testing due to supply shortage

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Officials have announced South Dakota’s public health lab has halted COVID-19 testing due to a shortage of supplies.

The lab had to stop this week after running out of supplies both from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and private suppliers.

It ran tests for medium and high risk patients on Monday.

The Department of Health said there is “no timeframe” for when tests will be available due to a nationwide shortage of testing supplies.

Two of the largest healthcare providers in South Dakota have indicated they are working to develop testing.

Governor Kristi Noem said Monday that there was a shortage of supplies needed to run the tests. She said they expect the situation to be very “short term.” Speaking today in Rapid City, Noem says they hope to rectify the situation “within hours.”

As of today, there were 11 positive tests in South Dakota, 551 negative and 350 pending.

The South Dakota Department of Health website has the latest updates.

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