Noem: South Dakota COVID Peak ‘Latest of Just about Any State'

On the same day that South Dakota reported 300 or more new positive COVID-19 tests for the fifth time in eight days and the state was named as one of the five biggest coronavirus hot spots in America, Governor Kristi Noem is saying that South Dakota's pandemic numbers have now peaked.

In a Tweet sent out Tuesday (September 22) morning, Noem says the worst has come and gone in South Dakota, claiming that the state's peak is 'the latest of just about any state'.

The Governor's proclamation comes despite South Dakota reporting 300 or more positives 11 times since August 25, after only topping 300 one time (May 8) in the previous five months.

The largest single-day spike was just last week when 413 positive COVID-19 tests were reported on September 17.

As of today (September 22), South Dakota had 320 new positive cases, bringing the total number of active cases to 2,817 statewide.

Currently, there are 178 COVID-19 related hospitalizations in South Dakota with seven percent of hospital beds and six percent of ICU beds occupied by virus patients.

Since the pandemic began in March there have been 19,189 total cases in the state with 202 deaths.