PIERRE, S.D.(KELO.com) —Smithfield Foods in Sioux Falls had been the hottest of hot spots in South Dakota when it comes to COVID-19 cases.
Another location that’s been seeing a lot of positive cases of the virus lately is the DemKota Beef plant in Aberdeen.
Seventy-six cases in the past three-and-a-half weeks according to Health Department Secretary Kim Malsam-Rysdon.
Malsam-Rysdon says DemKota management has taken great steps to make the plant cleaner and safer.
That former number one hot spot—Smithfield Foods—has been the source of mass testing of employees and family members. More than 3,600 tests, with a positive rate of 24-percent, or about 870 people. Malsam-Rysdon says identifying those carriers is key to getting through this pandemic.
(Mike Tanner, KWAT, contributed this report.)
