7 more people die of COVID-19 complications, all elderly

BISMARCK – The North Dakota Department of Health says it’s adjusting coronavirus testing and contract tracing to address a recent uptick in cases among residents and staff at long-term care facilities.

Health officials are prioritizing the testing of that population over all other testing with an effort to return the results of those tests within 24 hours to fast track potential isolation of positive residents and staff and quarantine close contacts.

State health officials said Wednesday seven more people have died of coronavirus complications since Tuesday, and all were in their 80s or 90s with underlying health conditions.

The total number of deaths since the pandemic began is 203 in North Dakota.