New coronavirus cases in North Dakota and in Burleigh-Morton counties have dropped for a third consecutive week.
There were 775 new COVID-19 cases in the state in the past seven days, compared with the recent high of 978 in early November, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services coronavirus dashboard, which is updated every Friday.
The weekly total for Burleigh-Morton was 139 cases, compared with the recent high of 259.
Burleigh remained at medium risk for coronavirus transmission, and Morton moved from high risk to medium risk this week, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Four counties — Billings, Dunn, Stark and Golden Valley — were at high risk. Ten other North Dakota counties were at medium risk, and the other 37 were at low risk.
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The CDC recommends that people in high-risk areas wear a mask indoors in public, and that people in medium-risk areas who have conditions that make them prone to severe illness wear a mask.
COVID-19 hospitalizations statewide over the week totaled 67, up from 60 the previous week. Weekly hospitalizations have been relatively stable in the past three months, fluctuating between a low of 52 and a high of 77.
Coronavirus patients took up less than 3% of occupied inpatient beds and only 1% of intensive care unit beds in the state this week.
There have been 276,274 confirmed COVID-19 cases in North Dakota during the pandemic that began in March 2020, and more than 2,200 deaths.
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Federal data shows that 68.8% of North Dakota adults are fully vaccinated, with the rate for all vaccine-eligible people — age 5 and older — at 62.4%. The national averages are 78.6% and 72.9%, respectively.
Nationally, 12.1% of those eligible for an updated bivalent booster dose have received one; in North Dakota it’s 11.9%. The shots provide protection against both the original coronavirus and also the newest omicron variant mutants. They’re available to anyone 5 years and older.
Go to https://www.ndvax.org or https://bit.ly/3N3IMxb or call 866-207-2880 to see where COVID-19 vaccine is available. Information on free public testing and free test kits is at health.nd.gov/covidtesting. State Health Department guidance and resources for businesses is at https://bit.ly/3w0DpKj. More detailed pandemic information is at www.health.nd.gov/coronavirus and https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.
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