Governor Doug Burgum says over half of North Dakotans who have tested positive for COVID-19 have had no symptoms of the disease.
At his weekly coronavirus briefing Wednesday, Burgum said of the 10,467 individuals who have so far tested positive for COVID-19, 5,858 individuals were asymptomatic. This amounts to 56 percent of cases in the state.
Burgum says this is why it's important to "mask up" and practice North Dakota Smart Guidelines in order to slow the spread and protect the state's most vulnerable populations. He also says the state's aggressive testing infrastructure is specifically aimed at identifying asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19.
Burgum says as active cases continue to rise in North Dakota, he's watching the overall rolling positivity rate which has remained below 4 percent. He says if it rises above five percent, there may be travel advisories against North Dakotans traveling to other states, and he may need to elevate the state's COVID-19 threat level.