Gov. Noem not issuing shelter-in-place for Minnehaha, Lincoln counties

Governor Kristi Noem says she will not issue a shelter-in-place order for Minnehaha and Lincoln counties at this time following a request from Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken.

On Monday, Mayor TenHaken asked Governor Noem for a shelter-in-place order for Sioux Falls as the city continues to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak.

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Governor Noem said she was "evaluating" the request Monday and announced her decision not to issue the order on Tuesday. Noem says she believes the order is "not appropriate considering the data, and the facts, and the science we have."

Governor Noem is also not granting a request from Mayor TenHaken for an isolation center in Sioux Falls.

Governor Noem says the request asked for the center to hold sick individuals at a location such as the Civic Center or Convention Center with the help of the South Dakota National Guard.

"These folks that test positive for COVID-19, we work with each of them individually, we give them the opportunity to go into isolation at home, where they are comfortable. And if they can't isolate there or choose to isolate somewhere else, that we make other arrangements to put them in a hotel room, somewhere where they will have privacy, not somewhere like a camp in a convention center with 7,000 other people," said Governor Noem.

Following Noem's briefing, city officials say they are not sure where the 7,000 number came from and was never specific about the number of people they were hoping to accommodate in the isolation center.

In a briefing Tuesday, Mayor Paul TenHaken said Sioux Falls City Council will consider a shelter-in-place order with the first reading of the proposed ordinance in a meeting Wednesday night.

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In order for the proposal to become law, the council would need to pass both this week's first reading and the second reading in next week's meeting. The mayor added "a lot can change" between this week and next week.