Coronavirus: How Minnesota's Midwest Neighbors Are Handling Spike

TWIN CITIES, MN — Governors across the Midwest, including Tim Walz, have ramped up their warnings about the coronavirus as cases have "skyrocketed" across the region.

On Tuesday, Walz and seven other Midwestern governors issued a plea to Americans to stay safe during the coming Thanksgiving holiday. The governors of Iowa, North Dakota, and South Dakota were not involved in Tuesday's call.

How do Walz's actions compare to the COVID-19 containment actions of other nearby Midwest states?

South Dakota

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem continues to oppose statewide measures to reduce the spread of coronavirus in her state, such as applying a mask mandate. South Dakota is currently experiencing one of the worst COVID-19 spikes in the world.

According to the New York Times, South Dakota's cases have ticked up by 22 percent over the past two weeks, and its death rate has risen by 46 percent during the same period.

On Tuesday alone, South Dakota reported 1,006 new cases of COVID-19. There have been 644 deaths related to the virus in the state overall.

The population of South Dakota is 884,659.

North Dakota

North Dakota has the world's highest COVID-19 mortality rate, according to Harvard epidemiologist Eric Feigl-Ding.

Much like Noem, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum has resisted issuing statewide measures to combat the virus. However, Burgum recently backtracked, and issued a mask mandate and restriction on the size of gatherings.

"Our doctors and nurses heroically working on the front lines need our help, and they need it now. Since the beginning, we’ve taken a data-driven approach to our pandemic response, focusing on saving lives and livelihoods," Burgum said in a news release Friday.

"Right now, the data demands a higher level of mitigation efforts to reverse these dangerous trends, to slow the spread of this virus and to avoid the need for economic shutdowns."

The population of North Dakota is 762,062.

Iowa

After publicly opposing mask mandates earlier this year, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds issued one herself for her state Monday. Iowa will also begin limiting the number of people at gatherings.

According to the New York Times, Iowa reported 41 COVID-19 deaths and 3,599 new cases Tuesday. In the past two weeks, the overall case rate has increased by 87 percent. COVID-19 deaths have increased by 66 percent, and hospitalizations have increased by 97 percent, the Times reports.

The population of Iowa is 3.155 million.

Wisconsin

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services reported at least 7,090 positive coronavirus cases on Tuesday. However, while the virus spreads through the state Gov. Tony Evers has not yet issued any new mandates.

Evers' existing mask mandate for Wisconsin residents is being debated in the state Supreme Court. Under the original mask order, Wisconsin residents age 5 and older are required to wear a face mask when they are indoors or in an enclosed space, other than at a private residence, with anyone outside their family or living unit.

Evers has also announced in the coming days he will be introducing new coronavirus response legislation to provide more support for Wisconsinites.

The population of Wisconsin is 5.822 million.

Illinois

State health officials on Tuesday reported 12,601 new cases of the coronavirus and 97 more deaths. As of the most current data, the state is seeing an average of more than 5,200 residents fighting COVID-19 in hospitals. Hospitalizations have increased 70 percent in the past two weeks alone, according to Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

State health officials have asked residents to "stay at home as much as possible" over the next three weeks, but stopped short of issuing any orders to that effect. However, the state's Tier 3 mitigation efforts will go into effect Friday — pausing high school sports, reducing retail store capacity, and limiting the operating hours of bars and restaurants.

The population of Illinois is 12.67 million.

Michigan

Michigan is seeing a similar spike in cases — the state confirmed 7,458 cases on Tuesday — and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has responded by issuing mandates prohibiting, for three weeks, indoor social gatherings and other group activities.

Bars and restaurants will be open for outdoor dining, carry-out and delivery only. Gyms will remain open for individual exercise with strict safety measures in place. Casinos, movie theaters and group exercise classes will be closed.

Indoor residential gatherings are limited to two households at any one time, according to the order. MDHHS is urging families to only interact with one other household over the next three weeks.

The population of Michigan is 9.987 million.

Ohio

In less than two weeks, Gov. Mike DeWine has instituted a curfew for all Ohioans, limited activity at weddings and funerals, and re-issued a stricter mask mandate.

The curfew will be in place for all Ohioans from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. starting Thursday. The curfew will remain in place for at least 21 days, DeWine said. The governor said he hopes the curfew, coupled with the mask mandate, will help stymie the unprecedented spread of COVID-19 across the Buckeye State.

On Oct. 13, there were 1,000 people hospitalized because of COVID-19 in Ohio. By Nov. 5, 2,000 Ohioans were hospitalized because of COVID-19. A week later, on Nov. 12, 3,000 Ohioans were hospitalized because of the virus. The state is now approaching 4,000 active COVID-19 hospitalizations. Ohio confirmed 7,079 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday.

The population of Ohio is 11.69 million.

Chris Mosby, Patch Staff, contributed to this report