Bismarck (CSi)  Governor, Doug Burgum resumed his COVD-19 Pandemic News Briefing on Friday afternoon at the state capital in Bismarck. State health officials say another death is attributed to the coronavirus outbreak in North Dakota, bring the state’s toll to 52.  Comments start approx 28 minutes in:

NDDoH 11-a.m.

Fri. May 22, 2020

Positive COVID-19 Test Results
Results listed are from the previous day.

INDIVIDUAL WHO DIED WITH COVID-19

  • Man in his 80s from Cass County with underlying health conditions.

COUNTIES WITH NEW POSITIVE CASES REPORTED FRIDAY

  • Burleigh County – 2
  • Cass County – 74
  • Eddy County – 6
  • Emmons County – 1
  • Grand Forks County – 1
  • Griggs County – 1
  • Richland County – 1
  • Ward County – 1
  • Williams County – 3


BY THE NUMBERS

77,447 – Total Number of Tests Completed* (+2,477 total tests from yesterday)

 

62,830 – Total Unique Individuals Tested* (+1,551 unique individuals from yesterday)

60,513 – Total Negative (+1,463 unique individuals from yesterday)

2,317 – Total Positive (+90 unique individuals from yesterday)
After investigation it was determined that one case from Cass was from out of state and one case from Cass was determined to be a false positive.

3.6% – Daily Positivity Rate

Because the serial tests completed and added to the total number of tests completed can result in new individuals who test positive, the daily positivity rate will be calculated using the total positives for the day by the daily number of tests completed instead of the daily number of unique individuals tested.

147 – Total Hospitalized (+3 individuals from yesterday)

39 – Currently Hospitalized (+0 individuals from yesterday)

1,405 – Total Recovered (+65 individuals from yesterday)

52 – Total Deaths (+1 individual from yesterday)

 

* Note that this does not include individuals from out of state and has been updated to reflect the most recent information discovered after cases were investigated.

For descriptions of these categories, visit the NDDoH dashboard.

For the most updated and timely information and updates related to COVID-19, visit the NDDoH website at www.health.nd.gov/coronavirus, follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and visit the CDC website at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus.

Burgum said all local leaders are in the business of managing risk.

He said decisions are challenging at all levels, concerning what and how to open facilities and businesses, recreation and others.

A revised Executive Order has been issued to move to recommendations, and guidelines, from enforcement, ND Smart Restart openings, language  and encourages businesses and industries to meet or exceed safe guidelines set by health officials.

He said if a surge in positives occurs stemming from a specific business or other location, the state will have the authority to close it.  He encourages all residents to wear face masks, as part of ND Smart.  And no shaming of those wearing masks should occur.

The  amended Executive Order references state buildings, under the ND Smart Restart, guidance, and outlines percentages of building capacity openings, with telework an major part, of workforce guidelines.

Burgum issued the following statement Friday in response to reports on data and privacy related to the Care19 contact tracing app.

 

“Care19 does not require or utilize names, addresses, emails, phone numbers or other direct personal information, and data on places visited by the user is held securely in the ProudCrowd servers using a randomly assigned, anonymous 32-digit number. None of this data is being shared or sold for commercial purposes.  The anonymous information Care19 is gathering can save lives, and smartly and safely using technology is one more way to help us speed up our economy recovery.”

 

Tim Brookins, CEO of ProwdCrowd, which developed and launched the Care19 app in partnership with the North Dakota Department of Health, explained that Care19 uses a third-party service to help properly detect what places the user visits. Current versions of Care19 use Foursquare for this service.

 

The Care19 app user interface clearly calls out the usage of Foursquare on its “Nearby Places” screen, as required by the terms of the agreement with Foursquare. Brookins noted the agreement does not allow Foursquare to collect Care19 data or use it in any form, beyond simply determining nearby businesses and returning that information. The Care19 privacy policy has been revised to explicitly call out this usage and make it clear that Foursquare does not store or use the data for other purposes.

 

Brookins says, “The simple overarching fact here is that Care19 has stated, and Foursquare has confirmed, that they have not, and will not, collect any data from Care19 users.”

 

Following is the official response from Foursquare:

 

“Foursquare receives some data from Care19, a free user of our SDK, but we do not use the data in any way and it is promptly discarded. For free users of our SDK, Foursquare does not use, repackage or resell the data. Essentially, any data we might receive is immediately discarded. Here is our license agreement for developers using our SDK.

 

“We appreciate that Jumbo Privacy (which was founded by Foursquare alumni, and we’re proud of their mission) commits to protecting consumer privacy — we deeply believe in the same principle. In ensuring due diligence on our end, I can confirm that when reviewing Care19 as a free user, we are adhering to our commitment that no data is used in our downstream products.

 

“When we opened up Pilgrim SDK for free users, it was important to us that this technology could be used to empower independent developers to build engaging, useful and valuable app experiences, but first, they must meet three main guidelines: 1) provide real consumer utility per our license agreement, 2) obtain opt-in consent from users, and 3) be clear in their privacy policy and consent notifications about what data is being collected by the app.

 

“We’re glad to see app developers use our location technology for good. It pushes innovation forward, which is why we wanted to open up our SDK in the first place. Equally important to innovation are the ethical and privacy values behind it, and we remain committed to ensuring the proper safeguards and practices are in place.”

 

In addition, as noted in the privacy policy, Care19 collects various forms of usage data for the app, for example app crashes, support diagnostics and data on the app’s usage such as screens most viewed and adoption rates for new versions of the app. Two services are used to analyze this data, Google Firebase and Bugfender.

 

The privacy policy has been updated to clarify that Google Firebase and Bugfender may have temporary access to aspects of the data for their specific data processing tasks but will not collect this data in a form that allows themselves or others to access or otherwise use this data.  None of this data includes user location information that Care19 collects.

 

If they have concerns, users may choose to delete their data stored on ProudCrowd servers at any time by pushing the “Erase Data” button on the Care19 About screen.

 

Burgum announced Wednesday that North Dakota will launch a second contact tracing app using exposure notification technology developed by Apple and Google. The app, named Care19 Exposure, is expected to be available within the next two weeks. The existing app, which has more than 33,700 users, will be rebranded as Care19 Diary. Data is collected anonymously in both applications, and participation is always voluntary.

For more information on North Dakota’s COVID-19 response, visit www.health.nd.gov/coronavirus or www.ndresponse.gov.

Burgum on Friday requested a presidential major disaster declaration for widespread spring flooding estimated to have caused more than $40 million in damage to roads and other public infrastructure in North Dakota. The request follows an executive order Burgum issued April 24 declaring a statewide flood emergency.

In a letter Friday directed to President Donald Trump through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Burgum requested that the President declare a major disaster for the period of March 2 to April 25, when the Red River dropped below major flood stage in Pembina. The request includes 21 counties: Barnes, Cass, Dickey, Emmons, Foster, Grand Forks, Kidder, LaMoure, Logan, McIntosh, Nelson, Pembina, Ransom, Richland, Sargent, Sheridan, Steele, Stutsman, Traill, Walsh and Wells.

“River and overland flooding this spring caused significant damage to roads, bridges and culverts in North Dakota counties that were already heavily burdened by recovery costs from significant spring and fall flooding last year,” Burgum said. “We appreciate the Trump administration considering our request and are grateful for everyone who worked with our Department of Emergency Services to compile data and make the case for federal assistance to help local jurisdictions recover.”

If granted, a presidential declaration would unlock FEMA public assistance to help cities, counties and townships pay for the costs of repairing roads and other infrastructure damaged by flooding. Preliminary assessments indicate that damage in the 21 counties is expected to exceed $9.2 million, with an additional $2 million in damage estimated to still be underwater. The North Dakota Department of Transportation also reported damages totaling $29.7 million to its network of Federal Aid System (FAS) roads.

In addition to public assistance, Burgum also is asking that the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program be implemented on a statewide basis to help communities pay for flood mitigation projects that increase resiliency and reduce costs in the long run.

President Trump and FEMA granted Burgum’s request for a presidential disaster declaration last June in response to 2019 spring flooding in 19 North Dakota counties.

With behavior health, the web site addresses ways to deal with death, and funerals, and memorial services during the pandemic and social distancing obstacles.  On line visit, https://www.behavioralhealth.nd.gov/

He said this Memorial Day weekend, and the day itself he reminds residents to stay safe and observe social distancing, wear face masks, sanitize, use soap and water on hands, regularly.  He said the state’s Vision Zero promotion urges safe unimpaired driving, including no drunk and drugged driving, and no texting and driving, and always wear seat belts.

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the annual Memorial Day Ceremony will be conducted virtually. Citizens are invited to view the live-stream available on the N.D. National Guard’s website, www.ndguard.nd.gov beginning at 12 noon on Monday, May 25.

This year’s keynote speaker is retired Maj. Arnie Strebe. A former North Dakota National Guard officer, Strebe currently serves as the Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Financial Officer for the Department of Human Services for the state of North Dakota. The emcee is N.D. National Guard Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Jon Wymer.

Scheduled to render remarks are Gov. Doug Burgum, Sen. John Hoeven, Sen. Kevin Cramer, and Maj. Gen. Al Dohrmann, adjutant general for the North Dakota National Guard.

Weather permitting, a flyover will be performed by two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters at approximately 12:03 p.m. This aerial display is a salute to the fallen military members buried at the cemetery and will open the formal program.

The national anthem will be performed by Ms. Brianna Helbling. The North Dakota National Guard Military Funeral Honors Team will execute a 21-gun cannon salute with a World War I-era French 75-millimeter cannon, followed by a performance of Taps by Mr. Doug Webber of AMVETS Post #9.

Also in support of Memorial Day recognition activities, the Viet Nam Vets/Legacy Vets Motorcycle Club is organizing their annual Honor Run at “The Shop” (131 Airport Road) in Bismarck. This year’s run will not enter the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, but will instead pass by the cemetery’s front gate as a salute to the fallen and continue south on North Dakota Highway 1806. Participants will leave Bismarck at approximately 11 a.m., head west on Main Street, cross the Liberty Memorial Bridge to Mandan’s Memorial Highway. After turning west on Mandan’s 3rd Street SE, the motorcyclists will head south on Highway 1806 passing by the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery. Please arrive with your motorcycle between 10 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. All motorcyclists and their passengers are invited to participate and no pre-coordination is required.

The North Dakota Veterans Cemetery is open to visitors 24 hours a day. We ask that during the Memorial Day ceremony, people visiting graves keep their distance from the central area near the flag plaza where the ceremony be conducted.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, small U.S. Flags will not be placed at gravesites this year according to a news release by the Veterans Administration (VA). In lieu of the flags, a wreath will be placed instead to honor the Fallen heroes at the cemetery.