Bismarck  (CSi)  Governor Doug Burgum held his weekly News Briefing on Wednesday morning, in Bismarck.

 

Speakers included Molly Howell, NDDoH Immunization Program Director; Dr. Joshua Wynne, the state’s chief health strategist and dean of the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences; and Dr. Joan Connell, NDDoH field medical officer, and Kirby Kruger, NDDoH Director of Disease Control.

 

Burgum passed along positive news with light at the end of the public of the pandemic.

With vaccines…. He pointed out the arrival of the Pfizer vaccine in the state.

He still urges people to stay safe including physical distancing, especially indoors, where ventilation issues exist, and wearing face masks.

 

With Low Cost Rapid Testing, with the BinaxNow tests, he said the transmission chain is broken more quickly with positives identified more quickly.

 

Therapeutic Testing.

Burgum said active cases in the state dropped significantly in the last week, with the positivity rate on Wednesday reported at 5.8%.   North Dakota currently has the lowest positivity in rate in the upper Midwest.  The goal is to get the number under 5%.

Stutsman report 122 active cases on Wednesday.

He added patients hospitalized with the virus has decreased the past week, and significantly from November.  115 more deaths reported in the state the past week with 57 new deaths reported on Wednesday.

He said the majority of North Dakota COVID-19 deaths have come from long-term care facilities.

 

NDDoH Director of Disease Control Kirby Kruger said, discharges have been increasing as well.

Regular communications continue with hospitals, who have reported some staffing issues.

With vaccines, Burgum credits federal officials along with science advances, to speedily make the vaccines available, including clinical safety issues, stemming from clinical trials.

Molly Howell, NDDoH Immunization Program Director said, 6800 doses of the Pfizer vaccine was received this week in North Dakota, with 831 doses administered as of Wednesday morning.

Next week ND will receive 13,200 doses of the Moderna vaccine.

She pointed out those who should not receive the vaccine includes those who have had reactions to other vaccines.  Those who have had COVID-19 can receive the vaccine, based on a timeframe.  Pregnant women can be vaccinated, after speaking with their healthcare providers.

She added that 17 and 18 year olds can receive the vaccine.

Two doses of each vaccine is required at a few weeks apart, based on the vaccine given on the when the first dose is given.

Burgum said multiple school districts are receiving vaccinations.

Dr. Joshua Wynne, the state’s chief health strategist and dean of the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, talked about the types of testing available including antigen testing, at point of care.  PCR along with antigen tests are to be given at UND, after the upcoming holiday break.   He encourages all residents to be vaccinated, and to continue to stay safe within protocols, for mitigation purposes.

Dr. Joan Connell, NDDoH field medical officer, discussed  therapeutics  including Monoconal Antibody Therapy for those at high risk for getting the virus.  Remdesivir treatment assists the body from replicating the virus, which is available currently for in hospital patients.

Those testing positive should discuss the therapies with their healthcare provider, along with individuals at high risk.

NDDoH
Wed. Dec. 16, 2020

11-a.m.

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.

On Wednesday, Dec. 16, the North Dakota Department of Health reported a net decrease in hospitalizations of 117 individuals. Hospitalizations in our state have fallen rapidly in the past few weeks, and while much of this difference reflects newly discharged cases, part of this drop reflects a quality control effort as case workers catch up with these changes following a recent surge in cases.

Of the 146 hospitalizations whose status was changed from current to discharged, 74 had been discharged in the past two weeks and the remainder were discharged prior to Dec. 1. This was due to a variety of factors, including case managers catching up with follow-up work after a surge of new cases in November; lags in reporting between when patients were actually discharged from facilities to when the NDDoH was notified of the discharges through the Health Information Network; and inconsistent data entry.

“The team took time yesterday to verify every individual currently marked as hospitalized and found a number who had been previously discharged,” said Disease Control Director Kirby Kruger. “In the future, the team will be working more actively with facilities to ensure the information is up to date and accurate and will continue to check the Health Information Network daily for hospitalization information.”


BY THE NUMBERS

4,917 – Total Tests from Yesterday*

1,242,239 – Total tests completed since the pandemic began

304 – Positive Individuals from Yesterday*****

242 – PCR Tests | 62 antigen tests
88,686 – Total positive individuals since the pandemic began

5.37% – Daily Positivity Rate**

 

2,956 – Total Active Cases

-274 Individuals from Yesterday

540 – Individuals Recovered from Yesterday (410 with a recovery date of yesterday****)

84,535 – Total recovered since the pandemic began

160 – Currently Hospitalized

-117 – Individuals from yesterday

See message above.

 

24 – New Deaths*** (1,194 total deaths since the pandemic began)

 

INDIVIDUALS WHO DIED WITH COVID

  • Woman in her 80s from Adams County.
  • Woman in her 80s from Benson County.
  • Man in his 50s from Burleigh County.
  • Man in his 80s from Burleigh County.
  • Man in his 90s from Burleigh County.
  • Woman in her 90s from Burleigh County.
  • Woman in her 90s from Burleigh County.
  • Man in his 60s from Cass County.
  • Man in his 60s from Cass County.
  • Woman in her 90s from Cass County.
  • Man in his 70s from Dunn County.
  • Man in his 60s from Eddy County.
  • Man in his 80s from Logan County.
  • Woman in her 90s from Pierce County.
  • Woman in her 40s from Ramsey County.
  • Man in his 60s from Ramsey County.
  • Man in his 80s from Ransom County.
  • Woman in her 80s from Stark County.
  • Woman in her 80s from Stark County.
  • Woman in her 100s from Traill County.
  • Woman in her 90s from Ward County.
  • Woman in her 90s from Ward County.
  • Woman in her 90s from Ward County.
  • Woman in her 80s from Williams County.

COUNTIES WITH NEW POSITIVE CASES REPORTED WEDNESDAY

  • Barnes County – 3
  • Benson County – 3
  • Bottineau County – 3
  • Bowman County – 3
  • Burleigh County – 34
  • Cass County – 72
  • Cavalier County – 2
  • Dickey County – 8
  • Divide County – 2
  • Dunn County – 1
  • Eddy County – 1
  • Emmons County – 1
  • Foster County – 1
  • Golden Valley County – 1
  • Grand Forks County – 23
  • Griggs County – 1
  • Kidder County – 1
  • LaMoure County – 3
  • McHenry County – 2
  • McIntosh County – 1
  • McKenzie County – 9
  • McLean County – 3
  • Mercer County – 3
  • Morton County – 10
  • Mountrail County – 1
  • Nelson County – 3
  • Oliver County – 2
  • Ramsey County – 6
  • Ransom County – 3
  • Renville County – 1
  • Richland County – 14
  • Rolette County – 11
  • Sargent County – 1
  • Sioux County – 2
  • Stark County – 10
  • Steele County – 2
  • Stutsman County – 15
  • Traill County – 5
  • Walsh County – 3
  • Ward County – 18
  • Wells County – 3
  • Williams County – 13

 

* Note that this includes PCR tests and does not include individuals from out of state.

**Individuals who tested positive divided by the total number of people tested who have not previously tested positive (susceptible encounters). Antigen tests (positive or negative) are not included in the calculation.

*** Number of individuals who tested positive with a PCR or antigen test and died from any cause while infected with COVID-19. Please remember that deaths are reported as they’re reported to us by the facility or through the official death record (up to 10-day delay).

 

**** The actual date individuals are officially out of isolation and no longer contagious.

*****Daily positive numbers include people who tested with a PCR or antigen test. 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.

NDDoH Website