Cases of coronavirus are rampant in Dakota and as elected leaders refuse to intervene forcibly, the burden of forcing people to take the virus seriously is increasingly placed on the families of those who have lost.
The number of people who know what it means to lose someone they love in COVID-19 is increasing. North Dakota and South Dakota have the worst per capita death rates in the country in the last 10 days. Despite progress in the treatment of COVID-19 patients, hundreds more have died in recent weeks than in any other period – a frightening trend point in the outbreak of the virus plaguing the Northern Plains and the Upper Midwest.
In Dakots, the virus has shown fewer signs of slowing down. Winter is approaching and hospitals are scrambling to make room for COVID-19 patients, with medical experts worried that virus deaths will increase in a region where people are slow to adopt mitigation measures such as wearing masks. Republican governors in both states have mocked government orders to help prevent an outbreak, leaning on limited government norms.
Deaths in many tight-knit communities are increasingly approaching home: a priest in the Roman Catholic diocese of Fargo; Former school principal in D Smet; Primary school staff in Siuks Falls; North Dakota state legislature candidate.
“Sometimes I think that’s not true,” said Chris Bjorkman, who lost her husband, John Bjorkman, at 66. “Sometimes I think he’s walking through the door, but he hasn’t come yet, so I’ll just wait.”
The family of Bijorkman, who lives in De Smet, a town in eastern South Dakota, where Laura Ingles Wilder once lived, decided to share her struggles with the virus in public because she prefers to serve the community. After a career as a teacher and school administrator, Borkomon was a well-known figure, remembered for his fun-loving ways and care for children.
“I want people to know what COVID can do and how serious it is.” Said Chris Bjorkman.
The family felt the strain of facing the healthcare system, as John Bijorkman’s condition worsened and he was moved to a Minnesota hospital. The family posted regular Facebook updates as she was transferred to the intensive care unit bed in Suez Falls and placed on a ventilator.
Doctors are unclear how many other cases they can handle, like Bijorkman.
“At the moment, we are moving in the direction of advancing our healthcare systems and I think people are closer to what they understand,” said Dr. Michael Pitila, complex care physician at Yankton Medical Clinic.
H Hospital Spital Systems in Dakots is a complex network of complex access facilities in rural areas and small hospitals that rely on the relocation of a handful of patients in the area.
The virus poses an emotional and physical strain on hospital staff, even as they try to stay free from infection. In an interview with the Associated Press, Pitila was blocked by a ping of an email informing him that several hospital staff had tested positive for the virus.
“Kovid patients come and they stay sick for a long time – in a week,” he said. “Many of these covid patients do not get better. It is very sad. “
North Dakota reported that 309 people have died from COVID-19 in the last 30 days, more than all such periods. According to Johns Hopkins, the state topped the country’s per capita mortality rate in the last 10 days, with about 100,000 deaths.
252 people have died in South Dakota, an increase of 98% in the last 30 days. According to Johns Hopkins data, the death rate at that time was about 29 people per 100,000.
“The devastation I’m seeing among the dead is very disappointing,” said South Dakota sports broadcaster Mike Henriques. “If we just find each other, we can stop it all.”
The severity of the condition in Dakots has worried medical experts across the country, such as Dr Ashish K. Ha, dean of the Brown School of Public Health. He called Dakotus a “cautious story” of the consequences of ignoring the virus and ignoring public health initiatives.
Zhao noted that in the case of the Sturgis motorcycle rally in South Dakota, which has attracted about 500,000 people, the area has experienced a huge climb. As the number of infections increases, Zhao said, it will become harder and harder to control the spread.
“It is a freight train going very fast and has to make enormous efforts to stop it,” he said.
Doctors in the region are stunned that they are still struggling to persuade people to take precautions.
“When I go out and I don’t see a significant number of people masking people, it really worries me,” said Dr. Jawad Nazir, a clinical professor at the University of South Dakota School of Medicine. “This is not going to happen.”
On ND’s Bismarck tour on Oct. 26, she shook her head after White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Berks said she had the least use of the mask wherever she lived in the country.
Yet the governors of both states have made it clear that they will not issue a mask order.
North Dakota Governorate. Doug Bergham, who just won the election, adheres to what he calls the “light touch of government” and encourages people to voluntarily cover their faces. He has also refused to impose restrictions on social gatherings and business ventures.
In South Dakota, Noime has expressed doubts about whether wearing a mask in public is effective, saying it would leave the decision to the people. He said the virus could not be stopped. The state’s largest medical groups recently launched a campaign to clarify how masks work.
People, including Republicans who have experienced Kovid-19 for the first time, are urging the government to do more.
North Dakota House Speaker, Bismarck Republican Rep. Lawrence Clemens, from Covid-19, spent four days in her 99-year-old mother’s bed “holding his hand and watching him die.” Clemens said wearing a mask needs to enforce the rules.
“It was a really difficult thing to experience,” Clemens said of his mother’s death. “I don’t want that to happen to anyone.”
