State Leaders Take Action To Mitigate Spread Of COVID-19 In Grand Forks County

There has been a total of 110 confirmed cases between LM Wind Power employees and their close contacts

GRAND FORKS, N.D. — It’s the fourth consecutive day in a row that North Dakota has had the highest number of positive COVID-19 cases.

“90 new positives, so again, far and away our biggest single day. That comes out of 621 tests, so we had a very positive testing day, yesterday in terms of test counts. We still want to keep getting a number of tests taken to go up and up,” Governor Doug Burgum says.

A big part of the new positive cases comse from Grand Forks County, most likely associated with the company LM Wind Power in Grand Forks.

“Of the 426 tests taken in the LM Parking lot drive thru testing, 374 of those have made it through the lab, results confirming 88 positive cases associated with LM Wind Power and of these 88 cases, 68 of those were in today’s count,” he says.

To prevent further spread, the state has taken more precautions for LM Wind Power employees.

“Health Officer Mylynn Tufte today is issuing a quarantine order for all LM Wind Power employees. And as we say all, we mean all those who worked in the plant, whether they tested positive, tested negative or have not been tested,” Burgum adds.

The Mayor of Grand Forks says the focus now is to mitigate the spread.

‘We’ve been working collaboratively with Altru Health Systems, the State of North Dakota to identify and mitigate containment spread as we expect more positive cases to be identified in the following days,” says Grand Forks Mayor Michael Brown.

He says this can’t be possible if the community doesn’t do its part.

“Grand Forks is an essential part of this partnership. We need to stay home, only go out for essential trips, practice physical distancing, sanitize frequently used services, and practice good hygiene,” he says.

Altru Health Systems say they will continue to test people who show symptoms.

“We’ll continue to offer testing to those who meet guidelines. Our screening hotline remains open 24/7 our sick clinic is open extended hours, and on the weekend to care for those with respiratory symptoms.” says Dr. Steven Weiser, the President of Altru Health Systems.

They also say they are well equipped to handle the current positive cases in Grand Forks County.

‘We currently have a dedicated in-patient unit for those with COVId-19, for those who are waiting for test confirmation. Our surge plan includes a tear approach that can accommodate up to 292 beds and 33 ICU beds. We currently have 88 ventilators in stock,” he says.

The last 52 tests done at the LM Wind Power parking lot that had not been through the lab will be completed by this evening.