Nov 19, 2020

Nebraska virus cases jump nearly 3,000 Wednesday

Posted Nov 19, 2020 4:44 PM

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Nebraska virus cases jumped again Wednesday with nearly 3,000 new cases.

The state reported its second-highest one day total at 2,812 Wednesday to give the state 106,617 cases. Nebraska also reported 10 new deaths for a total of 826.

The number of people hospitalized with the coronavirus decreased slightly to 961 Wednesday from the previous day's 978, but the total number of hospitalizations remains more than five times higher than it was two months ago when 185 people were being treated.

The state said 21% of Nebraska's hospital beds were filled with COVID-19 patients on Wednesday. Gov. Pete Ricketts has said he will impose more social distancing restrictions if that number reaches 25% of all hospitalizations.

Nebraska continues to have the sixth-highest rate of infection in the country. Over the past week, one person in every 116 people in the state was diagnosed with COVID-19, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Nebraska has risen over the past two weeks from 1,240.57 new cases per day on Nov. 4 to 2,296 new cases per day on Wednesday.