Bismarck  (CSi)  Governor Doug Burgum held his weekly COVID-19 news briefing Wednesday afternoon at the state capital in Bismarck.   He was joined by North Dakota Department of Human Services (NDDHS) Executive Director Chris Jones.

 

713 new positive COVID-19 cases and 159 new active cases, along with eight additional deaths. The update Wednesday came after The COVID Tracking project showed that the state topped 900 new cases per 100,000 people over the past two weeks, based on numbers collected through Tuesday. That ranks first in the country for new cases per capita, ahead of No. 2 South Dakota’s figure of more than 832 new cases per 100,000 residents. A total of 28,947 positive tests have been verified in North Dakota since the pandemic began. It was the seventh straight day of active cases, putting the total at 4,759.

 

Burgum said, on March 11, 2020 North Dakota reported its first COVID-19 case, and since then he has tracked the virus and he was in touch with governors.  He said North Dakota has followed a path that has worked, including keep the spread of the virus, low.  He pointed out health care, with hospital stays remaining low, and adequate hospital be capacity.  He also talked about education both with in class and distance learning.

He went on to say, North Dakota is now finding itself in the midst of a COVID-19 spread in the Midwest.

Burgum added that public health and front line workers are someone conflicted with politics involved.

He praised North Dakota’s local leaders, facing challenges.

He said more powerful than an executive order, or mandates, is individuals compassion and love toward fellow citizens, including masking up, and other safe protocols being observed.

He invites North Dakotans to take action toward their communities, and fellow citizens by rising to the challenge by leading in each community by example.

 

Burgum said North Dakota has the third lowest positivity rate in the region.

He pointed out that 50 percent of longterm care workers have tested positive, in the setting of serving the vulnerable population.

He said North Dakota has received 58,000 rapid 15 minute COVID tests, that are being used in longterm care facilities.

Burgum visited on Wednesday by phone with mayors of the state’s 14 largest cities, discussing current issues with COVID-19 in North Dakota.

 

NDDoH COVID-19 Stats

Wed Oct 14, 2020

Posted 10 a.m.

Barnes

New Positives  2

Total Positives 276

Active Cases 30

Recovered 245

 

Stutsman

New Positives 7

Total Positives 632

Active Cases 88

Recovered  540

More information as it becomes available

COVID-19 Test Results
The results listed are from the previous day. Additional data can be found on the NDDoH website.

BY THE NUMBERS

7,797 – Total Tests from Yesterday*

730,902 – Total tests completed since the pandemic began

713 – Positive Individuals from Yesterday*****

28,947 – Total positive individuals since the pandemic began

9.54% – Daily Positivity Rate**

 

4,759 Total Active Cases

+159 Individuals from yesterday

535 – Individuals Recovered from Yesterday (385 with a recovery date of yesterday****)

23,823 – Total recovered since the pandemic began

132 – Curren­tly Hospitalized

-26 – Individuals from yesterday

8 – New Deaths*** (365 total deaths since the pandemic began)


INDIVIDUALS WHO DIED WITH COVID-19

  • Woman in her 70s from Bowman County with underlying health conditions.
  • Man in his 80s from Burleigh County with underlying health conditions.
  • Man in his 80s from LaMoure County with underlying health conditions.
  • Man in his 90s from LaMoure County with underlying health conditions.  
  • Man in his 80s from LaMoure County with underlying health conditions.
  • Man in his 50s from McLean County with underlying health conditions.
  • Man in his 80s from McIntosh County with underlying health conditions.
  • Man in his 60s from Mercer County with underlying health conditions.


COUNTIES WITH NEW POSITIVE CASES REPORTED TODAY

  • Adams County – 2
  • Barnes County – 2
  • Benson County – 5
  • Bottineau County – 10
  • Bowman County – 6
  • Burleigh County – 151
  • Cass County – 216
  • Dickey County – 2
  • Divide County – 3
  • Dunn County – 4
  • Eddy County – 4
  • Emmons County – 5
  • Foster County – 5
  • Golden Valley County – 2
  • Grand Forks County – 30
  • Grant County – 3
  • Hettinger County – 1
  • Kidder County – 3
  • LaMoure County – 1
  • Logan County – 8
  • McHenry County – 1
  • McIntosh County – 7
  • McKenzie County – 17
  • McLean County – 7
  • Mercer County – 12
  • Morton County – 44
  • Mountrail County – 7
  • Nelson County – 1
  • Oliver County – 7
  • Pierce County – 1
  • Ramsey County – 9
  • Ransom County – 1
  • Richland County – 3
  • Rolette County – 3
  • Sargent County – 2
  • Sheridan County – 1
  • Sioux County – 4
  • Stark County – 24
  • Stutsman County – 7
  • Traill County – 3
  • Walsh County – 9
  • Ward County – 55
  • Wells County – 1
  • Williams County – 24

 

* 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.

**Individuals who tested positive divided by the total number of people tested who have not previously tested positive (susceptible encounters).

*** Number of individuals who tested positive and died from any cause while infected with COVID-19. There is a lag in the time deaths are reported to the NDDoH.
**** The actual date individuals are officially out of isolation and no longer contagious.

*****Totals may be adjusted as individuals are found to live out of state, in another county, or as other information is found during investigation.

 

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.

 

With active COVID-19 cases continuing to rise in North Dakota, Gov. Doug Burgum Wednesday announced updates to the ND Smart Restart guidelines to help reverse the trend and reduce the spread of coronavirus in communities.

Again, these are meant to be guides and not mandates, and are not meant as guidance for school districts.

 

Highlights include:

Stutsman County remains in the Green Low Risk level. Barnes stays at the Yellow, moderate risk.

Changes that have occurred include:  Steele County moving to the Blue New Normal level, Logan and Sargent Counties to Green Low Risk.  Moving from Moderate Yellow, to Orange High Risk is Dickey County.

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

Burgum said, “We can better target the source of community spread of COVID-19 by reducing the recommended size limits for gatherings while also collaborating with communities to promote social distancing, wearing face coverings and practicing good hand hygiene to save lives and livelihoods.”

Effective 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16, the updated ND Smart Restart guidelines are as follows for counties under these risk designations:

  • Critical (red): Non-essential businesses closed
  • High (orange): 25% occupancy with a cap of 50 people (changed from non-essential businesses closed); encourage businesses to require face coverings
  • Moderate (yellow): 50% occupancy with a cap of 100 people (down from 250); encourage businesses to require face coverings
  • Low (green): 75% occupancy with a cap of 200 people (down from 500)
  • New Normal (blue): operate as usual.

 

Burgum also announced that for the first time, 16 counties are being moved into the high-risk (orange) level, which now recommends reduced occupancy rather than business closures. Nine counties are moving from low risk to moderate risk, and two are moving from the new normal to low risk. The risk level map will be updated here.

 

The changes to county risk levels are specific to large gatherings and businesses, not the instructional model within K-12 schools.

 

Larger indoor and outdoor gatherings are permitted if approved by community leaders and the local health authority. Community leaders may require event planners to submit a logistics and emergency operations plan to their local health authority no later than 30 days prior to the event. The ND Smart Restart recommendations are intended to supplement and not replace local requirements.

Burgum said, “We can better target the source of community spread of COVID-19 by reducing the recommended size limits for gatherings while also collaborating with communities to promote social distancing, wearing face coverings and practicing good hand hygiene to save lives and livelihoods.”

Burgum and Lt. Gov. Brent Sanford also met with more than a dozen mayors from North Dakota’s largest cities on Wednesday to discuss their local challenges, strategies to increase adherence to guidelines and how the state can best support local efforts.

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

 

Chris Jones added that each long term care facility determines their own visitor restrictions.  If new limitations are implemented the state’s long term care indoor visitor restrictions will move from 195 to 12 facilities.