The Latest: South Dakota group commemorates COVID-19 deaths

World

PIERRE, S.D. — One group of South Dakotans marked the Thanksgiving holiday by setting up a makeshift memorial near the state capitol in Pierre for those who have died from COVID-19.

A group called Stop the Spread set up over 800 empty chairs on the Capitol grounds, representing each person who has died. The state has tallied 849 COVID-19 deaths, with 424 of those deaths coming in November.

That death count is the 41st highest in the country overall, but the 11th highest per capita, according to Johns Hopkins researchers.

While the state maintained one of the nation’s lowest death rates per capita throughout the summer and into the fall, a wave of cases has led to a skyrocketing rate of deaths in recent weeks.