FARGO, N.D. (AP) - North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum said Wednesday the state will double the amount of COVID-19 tests in the coming days, a promise he delivered after one-fifth of the total positive tests were confirmed in the last 24 hours.
State officials reported nine positive tests from Tuesday afternoon to Wednesday afternoon, raising the total number to 45. Those patients included two people in their 30s, four in their 50s, two in their 60s and one in their 70s.
Burgum said he has formed a testing task force that will include help from the private sector, including a Fargo company that has been providing testing materials to pharmacies around the world. So far there have been 1,955 people tested, including 353 in the last day.
“Since we know we are going to be in this for weeks to come, we need to ramp up that testing,” Burgum said. “The numbers are still climbing. The more testing we do, the more positives we’ll find.”
Eight people who have tested positive remain hospitalized.
The governor also announced that the state will provide workers compensation for first responders and other health care providers who contract COVID-19 on the job. That includes coverage for firefighters, law enforcement and volunteer workers, he said. The law does not currently provide benefits for viruses.
So far, at least, Burgum and the majority leader of the state House are resisting some suggestions for a special session because of the virus and the oil price crash. Mike Nowatzki, Burgum’s communications director, said that although “it’s too early to speculate” about whether to call in lawmakers, the governor’s office continues to evaluate the COVID-19 pandemic on an “hour-by-hour” basis.
“We’re also waiting to see what comes from Congress in terms of an economic stimulus package to determine where the state may need to fill gaps” on providing relief, Nowatzki said.
North Dakota’s Legislature holds a regular session every other year.
Rep. Chet Pollert, the Republican House majority leader, said lawmakers should exercise caution about promoting a special session. He said it could take up to two months to crunch the numbers from the drop in oil prices. He added that the governor can cut agency budgets on his own and has the authority to access a budget stabilization fund that is capped at more than $726 million.
Pollert, of Carrington, said Burgum is “doing a good job” handling the COVID-19 crisis with executive orders and keeping residents and lawmaker informed.
U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he agrees with governors who doubt that the coronavirus crisis will have subsided enough that the country can be “opened up” by Easter, as President Donald Trump has suggested.
Cramer, a Republican and steadfast Trump ally, said he appreciates Trump’s “aspirational” talk.
“One thing about the president, he is an eternal optimist,” Cramer said. “He never said for sure we’re going to do it.”
A day after Burgum and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem both said the COVID-19 crisis would persist in their states well beyond Easter, Cramer said he agreed.
“It’s hard to imagine at that point it’s going to be the right time to do it,” Cramer said. “I’d hate to see us backslide after so much has been done and people have sacrificed so much of their freedom already.”
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Associated Press writer Doug Glass contributed from Minneapolis.
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Follow the AP’s coverage of the pandemic at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
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