SD reaches record high coronavirus death toll

South Dakota recorded a record high COVID-19 death toll Thursday with 13 fatalities and 747 new positive virus cases.

According to state epidemiologist Josh Clayton, cities and rural zones are reporting significant clusters of the virus in recent days, the Associated Press reported.

He noted that 245 of the infections reported were backlogged from previous days after a reporting error.

One large outbreak stemmed from a women’s prison in Pierre, with testing showing positive results for 29 women in one housing unit.

The prison recorded a total of 197 prisoners and staff have tested positive while 110 have recovered.

According to Johns Hopkins University, as of Tuesday, the state’s seven-day average testing positivity rate was 26 percent — the highest in the country.

The record numbers of new cases come as Gov. Kristi Noem (R) tweeted late last month, “South Dakota’s #COVID19 spread peaked the latest of just about any state.”

Other states in the Midwest are also reporting record COVID-19 numbers, including Minnesota, Wisconsin and Kansas.