After fighting off an initial hotspot in the early days of the pandemic in South Dakota, Beadle County is again leading the state in new COVID-19 cases. Health officials announced 33 new cases Thursday. Department of Health officials point to an ongoing cluster at the LSI Jack Links plant in Alpena as the main source of new cases. One employee has died from the virus.
State epidemiologist Josh Clayton says 99 cases have been tied to the plant, and 47 of those have recovered.
“I think that also provides some opportunity of getting individuals who are close contacts, maybe symptomatic, in for testing," he says. "And just the generality that we’re seeing some additional transmission within the community.”
Beadle County has seen 341 cases since the pandemic began. Of those, 208 are active cases.