Keeping track of the spread of COVID-19 in the United States is keeping a lot of people busy around the clock.

One website, GlobalEpidemics, is using a seven-day average of positive test results to track where the hotspots in the United States are.

They've broken down their rankings into four main categories:

  • Red - Tipping Point (25+ cases per 100,000 people)
  • Orange - Accelerated Speed (10-24 cases per 100,000 people)
  • Yellow - Community Spread (1-9 cases per 100,000 people)
  • Green - On Track for Containment (less than one case per 100,000 people)

And while South Dakota as a state remains in the yellow range with 6.9 cases per 100,000 people over the latest reporting period, three counties in the Mount Rushmore State are among the highest risk in the nation:

  • Buffalo County (County seat: Gann Valley) - 65.5 cases per 100,000 people
  • Dewey County (County seat: Timber Lake) - 60.6 cases per 100,000 people
  • Lyman County (County seat: Kennebec) - 45.3 cases per 100,000 people

Nationwide, eight states fall into the high-risk category:

  • Arizona (49.8 cases per 100,000 people)
  • Florida (42.9)
  • Louisiana (41.5)
  • South Carolina (31.3)
  • Texas (28.9)
  • Georgia (28.5)
  • Alabama (26.5)
  • Idaho (25.1)

Nine South Dakota counties are in the Accelerated Speed category: Mellette (20.8 cases per 100,000 people), Hanson (16.5), Jones (15.8), Oglala Lakota (15.1), Union (15.0), Douglas (14.7), Todd (11.2), Brule (10.8), and Ziebach (10.4).

21 counties in South Dakota are in the On Track for Containment category: including Moody, Kingsbury, Hamlin, Clark, Spink, Sanborn, Aurora, and Jerauld in Eastern South Dakota.

Minnehaha County is in the Commuity Spread category with 6.8 cases per 100,000 people.


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