LINCOLN – One new COVID-19 related death was reported Wednesday, bringing the state’s COVID-19 death toll to 21, according to the Nebraska Department of Human Services COVID-19 Dashboard.
The most recent death was that of a male in his 80s at a hospital in Hall County. https://www.facebook.com/cdhd.ne.gov
Morrill and Howard Counties also reported their first cases Wednesday.
The Morrill County case is a female in her 70s. An initial investigation has begun, and more details will be released when they are complete. https://www.facebook.com/panhandlepublichealth
The Howard County resident is a man in his 60s with underlying health conditions who was known to be in direct contact with another person who was later identified to have COVID-19, and contract tracing and notifications have taken place. https://www.facebook.com/lbphd.org/
Additional details were released about Saline County’s first case, announced yesterday. The case is a female in her late teens who is isolating at home and being actively monitored by Public Health Solutions District Health Department. https://www.facebook.com/PHSHealthDept
Today’s state case total, as of 5:40 pm Central Daylight Time, is 952. DHHS launched a new data dashboard that updates the state's COVID-19 case totals daily. You can find it at http://dhhs.ne.gov/coronavirus. Local health departments are reporting cases and deaths in their jurisdictions. In the event of a discrepancy between DHHS dashboard data and cases and deaths reported by local public health officials, data reported by the local health department should be considered the most up to date.
All 93 Nebraska counties are now covered by state Directed Health Measures (DHMs). http://dhhs.ne.gov/coronavirus. It's critical that Nebraskans follow these enforceable state Directed Health Measures to help slow the spread of COVID-19 in the state. These measures help protect each other and those who are more vulnerable to severe illness and death, and help hospitals and clinics from being overwhelmed so they can continue to provide care to families, friends and neighbors who need it.
In addition to the state-issued DHM, some Local Health Departments have issued additional restrictions - http://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/COVID-19-Directed-Health-Measures.aspx
DHHS supports Governor Ricketts in urging Nebraskans to follow the Six Rules to Keep Nebraska Healthy.
- Stay home. No non-essential errands and no social gatherings. Respect the ten-person limits.
- Socially distance your work. Work from home or use the six-foot rule as much as possible in the workplace.
- Shop alone. Do this only once a week and do not take your family with you.
- Help kids social distance. Play at home, no group sports and no playgrounds.
- Help seniors stay at home. This can be done by shopping for them. Do not visit long-term facilities.
- Exercise daily. Do your best to stay as healthy and safe as you can.
Recent studies show that a significant portion of people with COVID-19 lack symptoms and those who eventually develop symptoms can pass the virus to others before showing symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC now recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (grocery stores, pharmacies, etc.) especially in areas of significant community-based transmission - https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/cloth-face-cover-faq.html.
Cloth face coverings are not a substitute for social distancing. Public health officials continue to emphasize that maintaining 6-feet social distancing is crucial to slowing the spread of the virus.
Here's where to find tools and resources for individuals and families, schools, communities, businesses, healthcare facilities, and first responders on the DHHS website - http://dhhs.ne.gov/coronavirus and CDC's website – https://www.cdc.gov/covid19 .
DHHS opened a statewide COVID-19 information line to help answer general questions and share the latest information and resources with Nebraskans to help keep them informed. The number is (402) 552-6645; hours of operation are 8 a.m.-8 p.m. CST, 7 days a week.
DHHS will continue to update Nebraskans through the DHHS website and on Facebook and Twitter as we have new information. The CDC's website is also a good resource for COVID-19 information - https://www.cdc.gov/covid19 .