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News and resources regarding COVID-19

NEWS 7.19.21: SD Surplus, C19 School Concerns, Local Positivity Rates, Adventureland Accident Update

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South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem announces the state finished the last fiscal year with an $86 million surplus. The Republican governor says tax revenue hit a 30-year high and finished $62 million over what was estimated. The state also spent about $24 million less than what was budgeted for the fiscal year that ended on June 30. Noem credits the state’s “respect for freedom and our continued emphasis on fiscal responsibility” for the financial windfall. Federal coronavirus relief funds sent both to taxpayers and state government also fueled the surplus.

Nebraska schools are getting conflicting advice from state and federal health officials over whether students should quarantine after contact with someone who tests positive for COVID-19.

The state Department of Health and Human Services is telling schools that students who had contact with an infected person would not have to quarantine as long as they don’t have any symptoms.

But the CDC says that students who aren’t vaccinated and have close contact with an infected person should still quarantine.

Woodbury County’s positivity rate is 2% with one positive case in the past seven days.  Several Siouxland counties have a positivity rate of zero. However, there is a 20% positivity rate for Carroll County, 14% for Crawford, and 7% for Buena Vista.  However, the counties only have one two positive cases.

Credit Iowa Department of Public Health

The COVID-19 comeback across the U.S. is putting pressure on hospitals at a time when some of them are busy just trying to catch up on surgeries and other procedures that were put on hold during the pandemic.

With the highly contagious delta variant spreading rapidly across the country, cases in the U.S. are up about 70% over the last week, hospital admissions are up about 36% and deaths rose by 26%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The South Dakota Department of Education has succeeded in its second attempt to get lawmakers to approve rules for allowing medical marijuana in public schools.

The state is working on setting up a medical marijuana program under a law voters passed last year. But the program has seen a clunky rollout at times.

A teenager injured in an accident at Adventureland that killed his younger brother is showing small signs of improvement.

An attorney for the family says 16-year-old David Jaramillo Jr. remains in critical condition, but his sight is improving and he can recognize and respond to others.

However, the teen struggles with memory loss and digestive issues.