SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The state Department of Corrections says nearly half of the prisoners at South Dakota facilities have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.
The update was posted Monday after a weekend in which cases of the coronavirus doubled at the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls and the Mike Durfee State Prison in Springfield.
The report shows that as of Sept. 30 there have been 1,555 positive cases among the state’s 3,347 prisoners, a rate of 46%. The Mike Durfee State Prison has seen the most cases with 674. The South Dakota State Penitentiary has seen the second most cases with 506, but the highest positivity rate at 73%.
