Virus deaths, hospitalizations unchanged in North Dakota

BISMARCK, N.D.  — North Dakota health officials confirmed Sunday that deaths and hospitalizations due to complications from the coronavirus remained unchanged in the last day.

The update showed 67 new COVID-19 cases out of 2,495 processed tests, for a positivity rate of 3.11%. The number of fatalities remained at 1,422 since the start of the pandemic and the hospitalizations stood at 50, including eight people requiring intensive care.

The state’s hospital tracker lists 39 staffed ICU beds and 406 staffed inpatient beds available across North Dakota.

There were 243 new cases per 100,000 people in North Dakota over the past two weeks, which ranks 49th in the country for new cases per capita, according to The COVID Tracking Project. One in every 904 people in North Dakota tested positive in the past week.

Cass County, which includes Fargo, and Burleigh County, which includes Bismarck, have combined to record more than a third of the positive tests in North Dakota.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.