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Cavalier County sees first COVID-19 case testing increases

Bismarck, Fargo and Minot all conducted free testing this past week

Novel Coronavirus
This is a depiction of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Illustration/U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention

BISMARCK — The North Dakota Department of Health on Saturday, June 20, announced 25 added individuals have tested positive for COVID-19, including the first positive case in Cavalier County.

A total of 3,251 individuals have now tested positive for COVID-19 in the state.

An average of 28 positive tests have been confirmed by the department in the last week, while testing has greatly increased, with another 3,947 tests conducted Friday. The number of active cases are down to 293 from 304.

The state’s goal of roughly 4,000 tests daily were achieved twice this past week, with a record high of 4,419 tests Wednesday and another 4,193 on Thursday. This largely in part to the free testing throughout the state.

In Bismarck, free COVID-19 testing was open to the general public Wednesday, June 17, with outdoor drive-up testing taking place at the state Capitol. In addition, Fargo conducted another round of free examinations June 18 and 19 in the parking lot of the Fargodome, while the state fairgrounds in Minot hosted free testing Friday for much of the day.

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Testing for the general public was scheduled in Fort Yates, N.D., on Saturday at the Standing Rock School Bus Garage.

The state has now conducted 152,043 total tests, according to the department, with 76 deaths and 28 still hospitalized, which is up two from Friday. An additional 42 individuals have recovered from the disease, bringing the total to 2,882 recovered. Of the tests, 90,980 have come back negative.

No new deaths were reported in North Dakota from a disease that has claimed more than 119,000 lives nationwide. Of the new cases, 14 were from Cass County, which accompasses the Fargo area, which now has 2,118 cases, 65% of total cases. Sixty-four of the state’s deaths have come from the county.

Burleigh County reported four positive cases, while Grand Forks County added another three cases. Ward, McKenzie and Bottineau counties also reported positive cases.

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Long-term care facilities continue to be the main focus for potential outbreaks and likelihood of death. Nursing homes are more susceptible to deadly outbreaks of COVID-19 due to the amount of elderly with underlying health conditions. Of the 76 victims in the state, 48 of them come from individuals 80 years and older. Fifty-six statewide deaths from long term care have been confirmed from the department, with 29 active cases being reported.

Of the cases, 23 of them come from facility staff. Valley Senior Living on Columbia in Grand Forks currently has four staff members with positive cases.

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