Dustin Jensen, University of Jamestown Vice President of Student Affairs, speaks about how they’re combating the spread of COVID-19.

JAMESTOWN, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – Businesses, organizations, and residents continue to take steps to combat the spread of COVID-19.

In the latest Jamestown & Stutsman County COVID-19 briefing Tuesday, Central Valley Health District Unit Administrator Robin Iszler stated that there was still only one confirmed case in Stutsman County.

Iszler says so far, there have been 9 deaths associated with the disease in North Dakota.

Jamestown Regional Medical Center CEO and President Mike Delfs says they are also working against “financial implications.” He says this also applies to other rural hospitals across the state.

Delfs added that with fewer patients and fewer surgeries, they’re about 80% down from where they were a month ago. He pointed out that as an industry, it has been tough on rural hospitals.

Tonya Perkins, Administrator for the North Dakota State Hospital, says they are up to date with COVID-19 preparedness.

Perkins says a unit has been established to screen, quarantine, and test new admissions. This will also allow them to provide care if someone were to test positive for the disease.

She added that visitor restrictions also remain in place.

Dustin Jensen, Vice President for Student Affairs at the University of Jamestown, says they are continuing their online education, but some students who attend the University who come from COVID-19 “hotspots” have decided to stay in Jamestown.

Jensen added that they have cancelled all oversea trips, on-campus conferencing through May and more. He says all Spring athletics were cancelled and student athletes will receive another year of eligibility if they chose to use it.

Another item is graduation, which has been moved to October for the class of 2020.

You can watch the breifing from Tuesday, April 14th below:

https://video.ibm.com/recorded/126357892