City Council to consider shelter-in-place order for Sioux Falls
April 14, 2020
The Sioux Falls City Council will hear the first reading Wednesday night of an ordinance to issue a shelter-in-place order for the city.
At Tuesday’s media briefing, Mayor Paul TenHaken said data shows that the number of COVID-19 cases in South Dakota is concerning.
“This is is not flattening of the curve,” he said, showing data comparing to South Dakota’s timeline of cases compared with other area states. “This is a spike. This is a pretty significant spike.”
The majority of South Dakota’s cases are related to an outbreak at the Smithfield Foods plant in Sioux Falls, which is leading the company to an indefinite shutdown that’s expected to begin later this week.
On Saturday, TenHaken asked Gov. Kristi Noem to issue a three-week shelter-in-place order for all residents of Minnehaha and Lincoln counties. In an executive order Noem issued last week, a shelter-in-place order for the two counties involved those 65 and older and those with underlying health conditions.
TenHaken said discussions are ongoing with the state about expanding the order, and Tuesday afternoon, the state will present its data and forward-looking modeling to the city, “which will further along the conversation.”
The City Council would vote on whether to issue the shelter-in-place order at next week’s meeting.
“But between our first reading on Wednesday night and a second reading next Tuesday, a lot can change, but in order to keep up with the cycle and pace of government we have to provide the notice,” TenHaken said.
