5 things to know today: Essentia lawsuit, Rising case numbers, In-person education, Drought conditions, Business vandalized

By InForum and Eric Bolin

July 15, 2020 at 6:00 AM

1. Fargo moms sue Essentia alleging improperly stored vaccines, drugs harmed almost 50K patients

Two mothers have filed a lawsuit against Essentia Health for administering injectable medications and vaccines to almost 50,000 patients in Minnesota and North Dakota that lost their potency because of improper temperature storage.

The lawsuit, filed July 10 in U.S. District Court in Fargo, seeks certification as a class action on behalf of the affected patients, who were notified in April by Essentia that 100 types of injectable medications and vaccines had not been stored at proper cold temperatures.

The medications and vaccines were administered in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Essentia said the medicines were stored improperly by a distributor that it has not named, and that the health system assumed storage responsibility in February.

Two Fargo mothers are named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit, filed on their behalf and on behalf of their five children and potential class members, if a judge decides to allow the lawsuit to proceed as a class action.

2. Active COVID-19 cases continue to rise in North Dakota as Oil Patch county sees jump

3D print of a SARS-CoV-2—also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus that causes COVID-19—virus particle. The virus surface (blue) is covered with spike proteins (red) that enable the virus to enter and infect human cells. National Institutes of Health

The North Dakota Department of Health on Tuesday, July 14, announced 55 new cases of COVID-19.

There are now 720 North Dakotans known to be infected with the virus — the most of any point since the state confirmed its first case in March.

Like many states in the southern and southwestern parts of the country, North Dakota has seen COVID-19 infections surge over the last three weeks, with active cases more than tripling in the state.

Unlike Florida, Texas and other major virus hot spots, North Dakota is among the top states in testing per capita and the rate of positive tests has remained relatively low.

About 2.3% of the 2,427 test results announced Tuesday came back positive, but more than half of those tested as part of the latest batch of results had been tested previously.

3. North Dakota schools can opt for in-person education this fall

Gov. Doug Burgum speaks at a news conference in the North Dakota Capitol in late April. Forum News Service file photo

North Dakota officials have announced guidelines for reopening K-12 schools this fall.

Instruction may be face-to-face, virtual or a hybrid of the two depending on decisions made by local school boards and COVID-19 conditions in each district, Gov. Doug Burgum said at a press conference on Tuesday, July 14.

Burgum and State Superintendent Kirsten Baesler said school boards and administrators will need to consult with their local communities to create individualized health and safety plans and revamped distance learning plans. Those plans must be approved by local school boards, but not state officials.

The guidelines released Tuesday are largely based on recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In May the recommendations were 20 pages long, but now they have shrunk to seven.

4. Western and central North Dakota see rain, but it's too little too late for some

drouight map 2.PNG — The most recent U.S. Drought Monitor map, from Thursday, July 9, shows much of western and central North Dakota is in a moderate drought (light brown) or is abnormally dry (yellow).

North Dakota has received much needed rainfall in recent weeks of a year that so far has been Bismarck's driest on record . Yet this relief hasn't been enough to undo the damage already inflicted on the state's livestock forage and some of its overall crop production.

Much of western and central North Dakota is in a moderate drought or is abnormally dry, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor . A few weeks ago, parts of Burleigh and Morton counties were in a severe drought.

The drought could have caused excessive damage to many of the state's crops, but because fall 2019 saw one of the wettest seasons on record and much of the moisture was locked in the soil throughout the winter, the drought's ramifications have not been as extreme as they could have been, said state climatologist Adnan Akyuz.

"The impact of droughts is not seen directly, but however it still causes losses to agriculture," Akyuz said. "It causes some social stress. It affects domestic water supply and indirectly affects energy production, public health, wildlife and contributes to wildfire."

5. Tastee Freez suffers another blow during difficult business year

Besides learning how to operate during a pandemic, staff at Tastee Freez, a popular Moorhead ice cream shop, have experienced several setbacks this summer.

During the night vandals ransacked Tastee Freez on the city's east side. No arrests have been made as Tuesday, July 14.

There were no Boston Shakes or cones with sprinkles at the Moorhead Tastee Freez. Instead, it is a day of heartbreak and anger.

"This window is completely smashed in. There is some hanging glass, which is why we secured it," said Tastee Freez co-owner, Jess Malvin, describing how vandals took hammers to bust up windows and destroy the inside of the Moorhead Tastee Freez.

Watch the story from WDAY's Kevin Wallevand