North Dakota reports 10 new COVID-19 deaths over the weekend as hospitalizations remain high – Grand Forks Herald

September, which was already the deadliest month of the pandemic in North Dakota since January, saw its death count increase from 46 to 56 with the Department of Health's latest report on Monday, Oct. 4. The state reported 23 deaths in August, when the current delta surge was still taking off.

The health department occasionally releases large, single-day disclosures of virus deaths, often due to reporting backlogs. In early October of last year, the state reported 24 COVID-19 deaths in a single day, citing a lag that included some deaths from the week prior.

Active virus cases in North Dakota dipped back below 4,000 on Monday following low weekend testing, while virus hospitalizations remained near their highest levels since last December. The state's six largest health care centers have struggled to accommodate the demands of smaller rural facilities in recent weeks, as rising delta hospitalizations, noncoronavirus admissions and staffing shortages have converged to push hospitals to critical capacity.

On Friday, Gov. Doug Burgum and top North Dakota doctors urged residents to make healthy decisions to avoid putting additional strain on the state's already struggling hospital system.

The following are the North Dakota case rates, deaths, hospitalizations and vaccinations as of Oct. 4. Because all data is preliminary, some numbers and totals may change from one day to the next.

Children under age 12, a demographic not yet eligible for vaccination, accounted for 593 of North Dakota's active cases on Monday, as well as four of the state's virus hospitalizations. More than a quarter of North Dakota's active cases are residents under 20 years old.

Burleigh County, which includes Bismarck, had the most known active cases on Monday with 816. Cass County, which encompasses Fargo, had 755 active cases, and Ward County, which includes Minot, had 302.

In recent days the state's 14-day rolling average positivity has hovered above 7.5%, its highest level since December 2020.

ACTIVE HOSPITALIZATIONS: 157

DEATHS: 10 since Friday, Oct. 1

TOTAL DEATHS: 1,621

Virus hospitalizations have fallen from a recent high of 166 early last week but remain near their highest point since last December. Three of the state's active hospitalizations were children five or younger, while two children between six and 14 were also hospitalized as of Monday.

A total of 15 staffed ICU beds were available statewide as of Sunday, according to a state health department database. Bismarck's two hospitals had just one ICU bed and no inpatient beds available. Fargo had nine ICU beds and 17 inpatient beds.

FIRST DOSE ADMINISTERED: 367,828 (55.4% of population ages 12 and up)

FULL VACCINE COVERAGE: 341,376 (51.4% of population ages 12 and up)

The health department is rolling out booster shots for those who received initial doses of the Pfizer vaccine at least six months ago. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved booster doses for those 65 and older, residents of long-term care facilities, adults with underlying conditions and people in high-risk occupations such as health care, teachers and grocery store employees.

About 80,000 North Dakotans are currently eligible for a booster dose, Molly Howell, state immunization manager, said last week.

The Department of Health encourages individuals to get information about vaccines at http://www.health.nd.gov/covidvaccinelocator.

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Readers can reach reporter Adam Willis, a Report for America corps member, at awillis@forumcomm.com.

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North Dakota reports 10 new COVID-19 deaths over the weekend as hospitalizations remain high - Grand Forks Herald