Lincoln – Two new deaths related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) were reported to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Wednesday, bringing the state’s total death toll to 17.
The Central District Health Department reported two COVID-19 related deaths today, a man in his 70s and a woman in her 70s. Both were residents of a long-term care facility. Both died at a hospital in Hall County. https://www.facebook.com/cdhd.
The South Heartland District Health Department reported the first cases of COVID-19 in Clay and Webster Counties. One is a child and the other is a male in his 30s who is isolating at home.https://southheartlandhealth.
Tonights state case total, as of 6:10 pm Central Daylight Time, is 648. DHHS launched a new data dashboard that provides daily updates to the states COVID-19 case totals. You can find it at http://dhhs.ne.gov/
All 93 Nebraska counties are now covered by state Directed Health Measures (DHMs) until May 11 – http://dhhs.ne.gov/coronavirus
In addition to the state-issued DHM, some Local Health Departments have issued additional restrictions – http://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/
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/
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.
Heres 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 CDCs 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 CDCs website is also a good resource for COVID-19 information – https://www.cdc.gov/covid19 .
