North Dakota sets records for COVID-19 deaths, cases and hospitalizations
North Dakota set a grim record on Thursday as health officials reported 29 more deaths from COVID-19, along with new daily highs of cases and hospitalizations. The report showed that 231 people were being treated in medical facilities across the state, up 11 from the previous high set Wednesday.
Health officials had not updated the number of staffed intensive care and inpatient beds on Thursday, though both have been dwindling. There were only 14 staffed intensive care beds and 188 staffed inpatient beds available on Wednesday
North Dakota's death toll from the virus climbed to 568, with 325 occurring since Oct. 1 The death count is the 15th highest per capita in the country at about 75 deaths per 100,000 people, according to The COVID Tracking Project.
CBS affiliate KXMA reports that most of the 29 deaths reported Thursday were people over the age of 60 but two of the casualties included a woman in her 30s from Ward County and a woman in her 40s from Cass County. Three of the deaths were people in their 50s.
Health officials reported 1,540 new cases of COVID-19 across the state, for a total of nearly 50,000 since the start of the pandemic. Health officials reported the positivity rate topped 17% on Thursday.
There were 1,859 new cases per 100,000 people in North Dakota over the past two weeks, which ranks first in the country for new cases per capita, Johns Hopkins University researchers said.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks.
