Tensions rise as COVID cases surge in Wisconsin, Dakotas

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — A surge of coronavirus cases in Wisconsin and the Dakotas is forcing a scramble for hospital beds and raising political tensions, as the Upper Midwest and Plains emerge as one of the nation’s most troubling hot spots.

The three states now lead all others in new cases per capita, after months in which many politicians and residents rejected masks while downplaying the risks of the disease that has now 210,000 Americans.

“It’s an emotional roller coaster,” said Melissa Resch, a nurse at Wisconsin’s Aspirus Wausau Hospital, which is working to add beds and reassign staff to keep up with a rising caseload of virus patients, many gravely ill.

“Just yesterday I had a patient say, ‘It’s OK, you guys took good care of me, but it’s OK to let me go,’ ” Resch said. “I’ve cried with the respiratory unit. I’ve cried with managers. I cry at home. I’ve seen nurses crying openly in the hallway.” killed over

The efforts to combat the quickening spread of the virus in the Midwest and Plains states are starting to recall the scenes that played out in other parts of the country over the past several months.

“What worries me is we haven’t learned our lessons,” said Ali Mokdad, a professor of health metrics sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle. He cited data, compiled by the company Premise, showing mask usage at 39 percent in Wisconsin and 45 percent in the Dakotas, both below the U.S. average of 50 percent.

“People let down their guard.

They said, ‘It’s not us. It’s big cities,’ ” Mokdad said. “But eventually, like any other virus, it’s going to spread. Nobody lives in a bubble in this country.”

In North Dakota, which does not require residents to wear masks and whose 770 new cases per 100,000 residents are the highest in the country, 24 more deaths were reported Wednesday, triple the state’s previous single-day record.

In Wisconsin, health officials plan to open a field hospital next week at the state fairgrounds to prevent health care centers from being overwhelmed by virus cases, even as state Republicans challenge Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ mask mandate in court.

The state surpassed 3,000 new virus cases for the first time on Thursday, more than 200 above its previous daily record, set earlier this month.

South Dakota set records Thursday for active cases, hospitalizations and new deaths, with 14. A small hospital that serves the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe transferred two virus patients out of state after administrators at 14 other facilities said they were diverting patients.