JAMESTOWN, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – Central Valley Health Unit Administrator Robin Iszler reports that there are currently 16 cases of COVID-19 that have been confirmed in Stutsman County.

Five of those cases have recovered. A total of 1,841 individuals have been tested so far.

Iszler says there are no mass testing events planned in Stutsman County this week.

Iszler says those who have questions on mass gatherings and events are encouraged to visit ndresponse.gov.

In the latest Jamestown & Stutsman County COVID-19 briefing, information on managing finances during the pandemic were provided by area officials.

Michelle Reed teaches personal finance at the Jamestown High School. She says student loan payments are currently suspended through September in the U.S.

Reed says these loans are not forgiven and will need to be paid back once forbearance is lifted. She says now is a good time to start budgeting and building an emergency fund to take advantage of the suspension.

Pat Nygard, Financial Advisor for Edward Jones, echoed Reed’s point of building an emergency fund. He says that’s the number one thing they stress with clients.

Nygard says as far as investments during the pandemic, he says diversifying the portfolio and re-balancing is critical at this time.

Nygard says a financial advisor can help work with 401k’s or you can look for a “target date fund” or “lifestyle fund”.

The Jamestown & Stutsman County COVID-19 Briefings are held each Tuesday at 2:30 PM on the Central Valley Health Department’s Facebook page.