The attached audio is from SDPB's daily public-affairs show, In the Moment.
Dr. Shankar Kurra is the vice-president of medical affairs at Monument Health in Rapid City.
He says the number of unvaccinated people coming into the state's hospitals with COVID-19 complications is limiting the number of patients they can see for other treatments.
“The hospital is at full census. We still have about 40 COVID cases, daily, in the 'inpatient' setting — and those are active cases. If you add the additional non-active cases that are in the hospital, that total goes up to 70 patients," says Dr. Kurra.
"And that's a large number, because our census, today, for example, is 270 inpatients, and 70 of which are in some way or another COVID related."
COVID numbers update
Note: The data presented is from the previous day — Tuesday updates include data from over the weekend (Saturday 1 pm CT - Monday 1 pm CT)
- State’s death toll: 2,449 (+11 from the previous report)
- Note: 'Death toll' indicates the number of deaths among people with COVID, but COVID may not have been the sole cause of death.
- Deaths verifiably caused by COVID: 2,162 (updated weekly)
- Active cases: 7,093 (-243)
- Eligable South Dakotans fully vaccinated: 55.18%
- Vaccine boosters administered: 156,958
- Currently hospitalized: 239 (-5)
- Note: Currently Hospitalized numbers include COVID-19 cases and people that are in the hospital under transmission-based precautions. The number may include out-of-state cases and people.
Advice from the CDC is to get vaccinated, and mask-up indoors if you live in a place with high or substantial coronavirus transmission. That’s everywhere in South Dakota except McPherson County.