A second wave of the coronavirus is hitting an eastern South Dakota city, with more than 150 cases reported in Beadle County.
Huron went more than 40 days without a new reported case of COVID-19. The first outbreak was confined to an extended family of Huron residents, which led to several cases and Beadle County's two deaths, including state legislator Bob Glanzer.
The second wave has pushed Beadle County from 21 cases in April to one of the highest number of active COVID-19 cases in the state, with 116 active cases as of Tuesday. It follows Minnehaha and Pennington counties, with 488 and 132 active cases, respectively.
Less than 40 cases are connected to the Dakota Provisions turkey processing plant in Huron and 58 cases are connected to the LSI Jack Link's plant in Alpena, where several Huron residents work, said Huron Mayor Paul Aylward. City officials believe the second outbreak started when one of the plant workers traveled outside of the city to visit family, Aylward said.
"We knew that the virus wasn't gone. We knew by reporting in other places, such as Sioux Falls and Aberdeen, that we would be susceptible to another outbreak," Aylward said. "We knew we would get some spread, but we didn't think it'd be this severe."
Instead of the virus confined to just one extended family like the first outbreak, this second wave presents a larger danger of community spread, Aylward said.
At least three students in the Huron School District have reported positive COVID-19 cases. Although Superintendent Terry Nebelsick said he doesn't have an exact number of students who have contracted the virus, at least one student in the kindergarten through first grade program, one student in the middle school program and one recently graduating high school senior have contracted the virus.
Earlier: Huron's mayor was set to retire. Now, he's leading through the COVID-19 pandemic.
The confirmed cases come right after Huron's graduation and end of the school year. As students return materials like books and iPads this week, Nebelsick said the district is taking several precautions.
Precautions include isolating teachers to their classrooms to finish the year's work, requiring employees wear masks when around others, designating outdoor material drop-off locations and storing the returned materials in school hallways for at least 48 hours before they're handled.
The process is similar to the district's handling of other materials, such as mail, throughout the pandemic, Nebelsick said.
"We just want to make sure we've done everything we can to allow our community to get going again," Nebelsick said. "I don't want to have any students or teachers in danger."
Government officials attribute Beadle County's ability to avoid the previous spread of the virus to precautions taken by businesses and individuals, including social distancing and wearing masks. The city closed bars and restaurants after the initial outbreak.
But the increase in cases is a threat to the city. Aylward said a limited number of beds are available for COVID-19 patients at the Huron hospital. Officials are communicating with other facilities about transferring patients if there is an overflow of hospitalizations with this second wave, he said.
"This just shows that even though we went for six weeks without a case, you have to remain diligent all the time," Nebelsick said.
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Huron went a month without a COVID-19 case. Now there are more than 100. - Argus Leader
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