No new cases in Brown County; one more death reported in state totals

ABERDEEN, S.D. (aberdeennews.com) – No new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Brown or Codington counties Tuesday.

The statewide total increased by 70, though, moving to 1,755, according to numbers from the South Dakota Department of Health.

In Brown County, there have been 20 cases with 12 recoveries and one hospitalization. In Codington County, there have been 13 cases with 12 recoveries and two hospitalizations.

An eighth death from the virus has been confirmed in South Dakota. There have been 100 hospitalizations, 824 recoveries and 11,060 negative tests statewide.

The numbers don’t include people who have had the virus but have not been tested.

The new death was a man in his 60s from Minnehaha County, home of the Smithfield Foods pork processing plant that was closed after becoming a COVID-19 hot spot.

The Argus Leader confirmed a second death tied to the plant. Craig Franken, 61, died on Sunday from COVID-19, according to his obituary. Franken started working at John Morrell, now Smithfield Foods, in 1979 after serving in the U.S. Army for three years. He worked at the plant for more than 40 years.

More than 900 cases have been tied to the Smithfield plant, according to the state. There have been 1,469 confirmed virus cases in Minnehaha County.

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