Following the Christmas holiday, South Dakota’s coronavirus cases maintained a downward trend in both new and active cases on Saturday, Dec. 26.
According to the State Department of Health, 417 new cases were reported Saturday, while active cases dropped down to 7,089. The state Department of Health did not report COVID-19 case numbers on Friday in recognition of the Christmas holiday on Dec. 25.
Saturday’s 417 newly reported cases fell by 83 from Thursday, Dec. 24, which had a total of 500 new cases. Active cases on Saturday also decreased slightly from Thursday's report by nine.
Over the past 15 days, South Dakota has experienced a roughly 50% decrease in active COVID-19 cases. A little over a month ago, on Nov. 28, the state had a total of 17,106 active cases, roughly 10,000 more than Saturday’s 7,089 active cases.
There were 16 new deaths reported on Saturday, 25 less than Thursday's death toll of 41. As of Saturday, COVID-19 has killed 1,446 South Dakotans since the start of the pandemic.
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Hospitalizations have continued to fall. As of Saturday, there were a total of 289 hospitalizations in the state, 23 less than Thursday's number.
According to the state Department of Health, more than 9,700 South Dakota residents had received the COVID-19 vaccine as of Thursday, Dec. 24. Of the two vaccinations that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, Pfizer's vaccine has been administered to a little over 9,000 South Dakotans, while roughly 500 have received the Moderna vaccine.
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