South Dakota health officials ask for holiday caution amid COVID-19 case decline

December 24, 2020

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) – South Dakota health officials are urging people to take coronavirus precautions during the holidays, saying gatherings threaten to undo the state’s recent success in slowing infections.

December has been marked with good news, with new cases continuing to decline and COVID-19 vaccines arriving.

The Department of Health reported 531 more positive tests and no new deaths Wednesday.

However, the state this month has still reported the nation’s highest rate of deaths per capita.

Secretary of Health Kim Malsam-Rysdon says the arrival of vaccine shipments and the absence of a feared post-Thanksgiving spike in cases offered some reason for hope.