North Dakota to shift to weekly COVID-19 case reports

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota health officials have shifted from daily to weekly COVID-19 reports as the disease continues to wane across the state.

The Bismarck Tribune reported the state health department made the move on Friday. Department officials said updating their website daily was time-consuming and results from the growing use of at-home test kits aren’t required to be reported to the state, leading to increasing inaccuracy in state data.

The state’s daily virus dashboard debuted on March 26, 2020, 15 days after the first confirmed case in the state was announced and the day the first virus-related death occurred in North Dakota. The first weekly report showed 336 cases.

Gov. Doug Burgum announced earlier this month that state would begin treating COVID-19 as an endemic disease rather than a pandemic.