In her May 7 press briefing, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Neom discussed the results of the mass testing event for Smithfield Foods Inc. and the current guidance on federal COVID-19 relief funds. 

Smithfield Mass Testing

The Smithfield mass testing event has yielded 3,200 tests thus far. As of May 7, there were 101 new cases for Minnehaha County. Although results have been calculated from the first day of testing on Tuesday, they have not yet been separated from Minnehaha’s total positive count. The last day for the testing event will be May 7 at 8 p.m.

Federal COVID-19 relief money

Noem held conversations with the U.S. Department of Treasury to request guidance on how she can spend the dollars allocated to South Dakota for COVID-19 relief. She has stated that the treasury is apprehensive about allowing flexibility in spending as to not bail out states with previous poor budgeting tactics. Noem confirmed that South Dakota is not one of these states. As more guidance on how these federal dollars can be spent, a special legislative session to discuss budget plans in the stated is seemingly less likely.