While South Dakota is still seeing an increase of positive COVID-19 cases daily, the rate is falling much lower than earlier projections.

Three weeks ago, Governor Kristi Noem unveiled her Back To Normal plan for the state.  She says at the moment, state officials are pleased with where the state is, but they continue to watch carefully.

Noem says hospital usage has stayed under critical limits.  Rates remain stable, and current active cases are declining.  She warned about another spike due to increased testing, but adds that the state is in a very good spot today.

Noem says despite the lower numbers, social distancing and other precautions need to stay in place for quite some time.  She says it is a marathon, not a sprint.

The governor says they are not yet changing the models which show a sharp peak in infection rates from mid-June into early July.

(Thanks to WNAX-Yankton)