So far the Coronavirus has killed more than 267,000 people in the United States. South Dakota has seen a spike in cases over the last few weeks with a recent downturn. Dr. Shankar Kurra is the vice president of medical affairs at Monument Health in Rapid City. Kurra says individuals should avoid unnecessary travel over the holiday season.
“We are trending down but we are still seeing about 1000 new cases a week. That’s still a pretty high number. For us to go down and sustain that downward trend the next 14 days are going to be very crucial. I’m hoping that over thanksgiving people were careful and did not contribute to that so we’ll have to wait and see.”
Kurra says while the remarkable vaccine developments are a hopeful sign, availability of the vaccine for the general public will most likely not be available until late spring into the summer of 2021. Kurra says as the weather cools and people spend more time indoors they should avoid restaurants and bars due to large groups and poor ventilation.
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