One South Dakota county has yet to see a single case of COVID-19

August 4, 2020
Mike Tanner

WATERTOWN, S.D.–If you head out to Harding County in the far northwest corner of South Dakota and talk to the locals about the COVID-19 pandemic, they might wonder what all the buzz is about. 

The health crisis that’s been sweeping through the entire country for months, has still not made entry into Harding County. Not a single case has been recorded there, at least not yet.

It’s the only county in South Dakota that has remained entirely free of the coronavirus. There have been 50 people in the county that have been tested according to the Health Department, but all have tested negative. 

That might not be entirely surprising because the 2010 census counted just 1,255 people living in the entire county. It’s the second-least populated county in South Dakota, making it rather easy to practice social distancing. 

Potter and Sully counties have recorded just one case each.

Jones, Haakon and Campbell counties have each had just two cases apiece.

By contrast, there have been 4,233 cases in Minnehaha County, tops in the state.