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North Dakota relaxes quarantine rules for domestic travelers

The state reported 2 more coronavirus deaths Friday: a woman from Cass County and a Grand Forks County man, both of whom had underlying conditions.

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Gov. Doug Burgum speaks about coronavirus at a press conference in the North Dakota Capitol on Wednesday, April 29. Jeremy Turley / Forum News Service

BISMARCK — North Dakotans no longer will have to isolate themselves if they travel back from other states in the U.S., Gov. Doug Burgum announced Friday, May 8.

The announcement relaxes an executive order that required those coming back into the state from around the U.S. for 14 days. However, the Centers for Control Disease and Protection recommends U.S. domestic travelers limit travel to essential trips, Burgum said.

The amendment to the executive order comes the same day that North Dakota reported two more people, both in their 80s, died after contracting coronavirus. The state Department of Health said Friday a woman from Cass County and a Grand Forks County man, both of whom had underlying conditions, died after tests confirmed they had the virus. That brings the total death count to 33.

The state also confirmed 54 more positive cases out of 1,643 total tests completed Thursday, bringing the daily positive rate to about 3.3%. In total, North Dakota has reported 1,425 cases of coronavirus, and 42,501 total test means the state has a total positive rate of 3.4%

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Of those cases, 714 have recovered, 104 have been hospitalized and 33 are currently in the hospital because of the virus.

Cass County reported 43 cases of coronavirus in Thursday’s numbers. Grand Forks County had seven, Mountrail reported two, and Burleigh and Pembina counties each confirmed one.

International travelers still must follow quarantine guidelines, Burgum said. Other exceptions and guidelines can be found at health.nd.gov/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/travel .

Burgum also amended another order to expand the number of days required for those who test positive to quarantine for 10 days, as opposed to the previous guideline of seven days. The changes follow updates to CDC guidelines. Residents also must be fever free for at least 72 hours to cease isolation, Burgum said.

In other news, North Dakota has received a Batelle decontamination system to sterilize N95 respirator masks. It is being installed in Bismarck. Trained staff also are coming to North Dakota to operate the containers.

April Baumgarten has been a journalist in North Dakota since 2011. She joined The Forum in February 2019 as an investigative reporter. Readers can reach her at 701-241-5417 or abaumgarten@forumcomm.com.

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