SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Facing the nation’s second-most coronavirus cases per capita over the last two weeks, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has defended her coronavirus strategy as a “balanced approach” that has kept the state’s economy humming. The Republican governor has disparaged restrictions to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. But over the last two weeks, the rolling average number of daily new cases reported by South Dakota health officials has increased by 84, an increase of about 56%, according to Johns Hopkins researchers.

In a Wednesday Fox News appearance, Noem turned attention to the pandemic’s economic impacts, saying the state’s approach is balanced.