North Dakota had highest Covid death rate in the world last week, analysis finds
The state is small and sparsely populated, and its governor has until recently resisted implementing a mask mandate
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Your support makes all the difference.North Dakota logged the highest coronavirus mortality rate in the world last week, according to a new analysis from the Federation of American Scientists.
South Dakota wasn’t far behind, ranked third globally. The states have coronavirus death rates comparable to what might be expected in a war zone, experts say.
The surge in deaths in the west of the United States reflects one nationally as well. Experts predict a grim winter for coronavirus, thanks to cold weather, flu season, relaxed public health protocols around the country, plus public fatigue with, and in certain pockets distrust of, mask-wearing and social distancing.
The US already had the highest Covid death toll in the word, now a quarter of a million people, and recently recorded a record daily average of new cases of around 158,000, with deaths also climbing back up to over 1,000 people per day nationally.
Political and cultural factors have fuelled the outbreak in the Dakotas. Both are small, rural states where communities are tight-knit but health resources are spread thin, and rely on the ability to send critical patients to larger hospitals.
Both states also had the lowest rate of mask-wearing in the nation in October, according to survey data.
Until recently, the Republican governors of both states resisted mandating mask-wearing as other parts of the country did, instead leaving it up to citizens to decide, though last week North Dakota’s Doug Burgum imposed one, alongside other emergency measures.
South Dakota’s governor Kristi Noem, meanwhile, has maintained that widely praised public health measures like distancing and mask mandates don’t work, and has said she wouldn’t enforce one from the Biden administration.
"The facts are simple: mask mandates, harsh lockdowns, massive testing and contact tracing haven't worked – in the United States or abroad," Ms Noem’s spokesperson told the AP on Monday, running well against the scientific consensus.
Others note a big spike in cases following large public events like state fairs and August’s Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota, which drew hundreds of thousands of people.
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