The state of South Dakota has a website that has more information about the virus, COVID.sd.gov.

UPDATED (March 13th, 2020 – throughout day) – The following events in the area have had changes due to the virus:

• Dell Rapids update for March 16th – 20th:
  • Upon recommendation from the Governor’s Office, and in conjunction with spring break, DRPS will be closed March 16-20.  At this time, we intend to open on March 23, however, the situation could change based on further recommendations. In the event our closure lasts longer than anticipated, students were sent home with district-issued devices.
  • Teachers will report next week, and we intend to provide basic, remote learning options for all grade levels on Tuesday and Wednesday.  The lessons and activities are not mandated, rather they will provide a valuable experience for staff, students and parents. Any feedback you can provide our staff will be helpful and this will be the first “test run” for most teachers.
  • I realize this type of closure makes it difficult for families who depend on the school lunch program.  We will be providing “grab and go” lunches in both the middle (south) and elementary school lobbies on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.  Any student can come between 11:30-12:15 and utilize their traditional form of lunch payment.  If you would benefit from a delivered lunch, this will be an option as well.  A brief survey will be distributed this weekend, allowing us to get an estimated headcount and arrange deliveries.
  • We will continue to provide COVID-19 updates on the district web site and Facebook page. Our Brightarrow notification system is having technical issues, therefore, I may not be able to alert you to new notifications.
  • Thank you for your patience this afternoon.  I wanted to due diligence on the situation and felt all options needed to be explored.  I want nothing more than to see all my students back safe and healthy on March 23!   –Dr. Summer Schultz
• Dell Rapids St. Mary School update for March 16th – 20th:
  • Following the recommendation of Governor Noem, St. Mary will be closed next week Monday-Wednesday in addition to Thursday and Friday’s planned Spring Break. No students shall report to buildings during this time. St. Mary staff will report at normal hours on Monday. These days will be treated the same as In-Service Days in that there will be no educational requirements during this time.
  • Due to next week’s closure, we are planning to have school on Monday, March 23. This was a scheduled off day but due to these changes we will be adding it as an educational day. We would encourage parents to not change plans that were already scheduled on this day off.
  • Our staff will be using next week to prepare for the potential for online learning in the event of a long-term closure. More information will be communicated with you next week as that plan starts to take shape.
  • A plan for Parent-Teacher Conferences will be made next week as well. We are hoping to keep them on Wednesday with teleconferencing, but need to do more research into what that can look like.
• The Dell Rapids Medical Group and Hospital is requiring patients to call before going to the hospital. Please follow this request to keep our community and hospital staff safe.
• At the request of Governor Noem, the remainder of the SDHSAA Class B Girls Basketball tournament is postponed. In addition, all SDHSAA state basketball tournaments for next weekend, along with the Visual Arts competition, are also postponed. The Student Council Convention, all Region music contests, and All-State Band scheduled for later this month are cancelled.This is a difficult decision and comes amid constant conversation and information sharing between the SDHSAA, the Governor’s Office, and the Department of Health. We will evaluate the future of the postponed events in concert with those same entities. The safety of everyone involved is our foremost concern, followed by exploring all options to provide the student-athlete with the opportunity to finish their season.We thank everyone for their patience and understanding in a very difficult time, and we apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause.Dan Swartos, SDHSAA Executive Director
• DSU is postponing, moving to virtual, or cancelling all events through April 13. This precautionary measure is to lower the risk of COVID-19 exposure to the university community. Updates are available on dsu.edu regarding specific events.

UPDATED (March 12th, 2020 – 10:00 p.m.) – Here is an updated announcement from the Dell Rapids and Dell Rapids St Mary Schools:

DRSM School Announcement

UPDATED (March 12th, 2020 – throughout day) – The following events in the area have had changes due to the virus:

• The Dell Rapids Middle School choir’s National Anthem performance at the Sioux Falls Stampede game scheduled for March 27th has been cancelled due to the hockey league suspending games.
• The Dell Rapids Carnegie Public Library has posted this update to their Facebook Page:
  In effort to protect our patrons and staff from the continuing spread of influenza and the rapid spread of COVID-19, the library has been and will be implementing the following changes immediately:
  • ALL library programming is cancelled through the month of April. You can still join us online TUESDAY mornings at 9:00 AM for our Storytime Live on Facebook.
  • All stuffed animals and toys have been pulled from the children’s area, cleaned and stored until further notice.
  • All library surfaces and computers are being cleaned daily.We are so sad to have to cancel our library programs but the health and safety of our patrons and staff are the most important thing to us. We are looking forward to finding new and creative ways to reach out to everyone online via Facebook Live and other social media outlets.We are still OPEN to the public, but will NOT be having any programming events until further notice.Please stay tuned for any further updates.
• The 2019-20 Big Sioux Youth Basketball League (Harrisburg) tournaments have been cancelled. This includes the 2nd Grade Boys and 2nd-6th Grade Girls Tournaments that were scheduled to be played on Mar 14 and the 3rd-6th Grade Boys Tournaments that were scheduled to be played on Mar 20-21. Tournament games will not be rescheduled.
• The SDHSAA has implemented a limited ticket policy for the the girls State B Tournament in Spearfish starting with tonight’s session.
• The South Dakota Wrestling Coaches Association has officially canceled the AAU youth regional tourney on Saturday at the Corn Palace and the youth state tourney on March 28-29 in Rapid City
• Mayor Paul Ten Haken of the City of Sioux Falls is declaring a state of emergency in Sioux Falls as a result of coronavirus outbreak.  This emergency limits all large gatherings of 250 people or more in Sioux Falls for the next 14 days at city-owned facilities.
• All public universities in South Dakota will extend their spring break by one week to Friday, March 22nd and cancel non-essential travel
• Dakota Wesleyan University will be extending spring break for students through Tuesday, March 17. All classes currently being delivered face-to-face will transition to an online format beginning on Wednesday, March 18. The anticipated date for resumption of face-to-face course delivery is Monday, March 30.
• The NAIA has cancelled the men’s and women’s national basketball tournaments.  The men were playing at the Sanford Pentagon, and the women were playing in Sioux City.
• The Indoor Football League (Sioux Falls Storm play in this league) will suspend its season following games Saturday
• The NCAA has cancelled all winter and spring sports championships.

Original Story (March 11th, 2020) – As the Covid-19 virus spreads across the country and globe, the virus has now reached South Dakota and the area.  The South Dakota Department of Health confirmed five positive tests on Tuesday, March 10th and three more on Wednesday, March 11th.  The state has had 27 tests come back negative with 11 more pending tests.  There has also been one death in South Dakota from a positive test in Pennington County.

Minnehaha County has three of the eight positive tests as of Wednesday.  The West Central School District closed their schools on Wednesday and they will remain closed until Monday, March 16th for deep cleaning.  Augustana University in Sioux Falls is extending its spring break for students until Friday, March 20th.  Several events in Sioux Falls have also had change of plans.  The Men’s NAIA Division II National Basketball Tournament being held at the Sanford Pentagon will be limited to immediate family and essential personnel only.  No fans will be allowed to attend the games.  The same is true for the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships at the Premier Center in Sioux Falls as well as the Women’s NAIA Division II National Basketball Tournament being held in Sioux City.

Dell Rapids and Dell Rapids St Mary schools have not made any announcements of school closings as of now, but they are constantly monitoring the situation in the state.  Dr. Summer Schultz sent an email Wednesday evening, which is shown at the bottom of this page.

Also as of Wednesday afternoon, Executive Director of the South Dakota High School Activities Association Dan Swartos has said the state basketball tournaments will play as planned without restrictions.  The girls class B tournament will be held in Spearfish March 12th – 14th.  The boys class B, girls and boys class A, and girls and boys class AA tournaments will be held March 19th – 21st.   Swartos did mention in a release that they will continue work with the state agencies to monitor and continually reassess the situation.

Experts have said that people should be implementing social distancing/avoid large crowds, have good hygiene which includes washing hands for at least 20 seconds and wash them often, do cleaning of their surroundings, cover your mouth when coughing or sneezing, and if you’re feeling sick to stay home.  The state of South Dakota has a website that has more information about the virus, COVID.sd.gov.

DRHS Covid-19 Email - 3-11-20