COVID-19/Coronavirus Outbreak Begins to Take Local Effect

The effects of this global pandemic are beginning to make an impact in Bonesteel/Fairfax and all of South Dakota. Things began to escalate last week with events being cancelled in Sioux Falls and throughout the state, and by Friday, Gregory County and surrounding areas were beginning to feel the change as well.

Cahoy’s General Store started to see an increase in shopping habits early last week, and continued to watch that trend. “The last few days we have seen almost double the normal sales in our stores,” says owner Dan Cahoy. He is optimistic that shelves will stay stocked for the foreseeable future. Their usual shipment was postponed from Tuesday to Wednesday this week due to the increase in demand. “We should have most of our inventory replenished this week.”

As time has passed, and the impact began to grow in South Dakota, Governor Noem has recommended school closures across the state, beginning with one week (March 16-20) and then making the announcement of extending that through Friday, March 27.

South Central and Burke Schools are both currently closed for that time frame. South Central Parent-Teacher conferences and Pizza/BINGO that was scheduled for this evening have been postponed.

South Central School is offering Grab & Go breakfast and lunches free to all playschool through 5th grade students throughout the closure. Burke School is offering Grab & Go lunches to any student who is currently enrolled in a Burke School (Burke Elementary, Burke Middle School, or Burke High School). More information on this can be found on each school’s Facebook page.

Cougar Cubs Daycare is currently closed through March 27. Their Father/Daughter Dance scheduled for March 28 has been postponed.

Haisch Haus Assisted Living has been adjusting their visitation since the beginning of the month, as of Friday they had to announce no visitation allowed and residents are now only allowed to leave the premises for medical appointments.

Currently the Bonesteel Sanford Medical Clinic is operating under regular hours, but everyone is to be screened before entry. The Fairfax and Butte Avera Clinics have both been closed with tentative reopenings set for the week of April 13, appointments for Avera patients need to be made in Gregory. Both Community Memorial Hospital and Avera Gregory Hospital have full statements on their current procedures updated on their Facebook pages. The public is highly encouraged to call all medical facilities prior to visiting.

Post 36 Fitness in Bonesteel has had to discontinue classes until further notice as well as cancel their Fish Fry fundraiser event scheduled for March 20.

Local restaurants are beginning to consider changes in operation as Gov. Noem highly recommends take-out orders as of Tuesday, March 17. “As of now it will be business as usual,” says Tami Jons, owner of the TeePee Cafe. “We are taking extra precautions to keep our staff and customers safe.” Take-out is available from the TeePee, you can call them at 605-654-9595.

Cahoy’s General is making sure that customers and employees have a safe environment by cleaning the carts, door handles, check out lanes, and pin pads on a regular basis throughout the day. The business just rolled out home-delivery service last week, which turned out to be perfect timing. Customers within a 15 mile radius of any of their four Cahoy’s locations can call or order their groceries online for delivery on Monday or Friday each week. More information on that can be found on their website www.cahoys.com and their Facebook page.