Local Deaths From COVID-19 Now Total 90

Lincoln, NE (December 3, 2020)  Five more residents have died from COVID-19, bringing the total number of deaths in Lancaster County to 90.  The individuals were a man in his 60s and a woman in her 70s who were hospitalized, and a man and two women in their 90s who were in long-term care facilities.

The City-County Health Department also reports 230 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Lancaster County today, bringing the community total to 17,683.  Over the past 15 days, Lancaster County has averaged 266 new cases each day.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Visit COVID19.lincoln.ne.gov to access a dashboard that summarizes Lancaster County COVID-19 data. LLCHD also released the following information today:

Recoveries: up from 5,273 to 5,317

Weekly positivity rate:

  • November 22 through 28:  29.6 percent
  • November 29 through December 3:  37 percent

Hospitalizations for COVID-19 positive patients: 158 with 93 from Lancaster County (four on ventilators) and 65 from other communities (seven on ventilators).

The COVID-19 Risk Dial is in the red position indicating a severe risk of the virus spreading. Residents are advised to follow these recommendations to protect themselves and others:

  • Stay at home unless traveling for work, school, food or medical care or to check on others who may need assistance.
  • Work from home if possible.
  • Wear a face mask when interacting with anyone outside of your household.
  • Stay at least six feet away from anyone outside of your household.
  • Avoid gatherings.
  • Only visit businesses and participate in activities where public health guidelines are observed.  The guidelines include mask wearing, physical distancing and capacity limits.
  • Follow travel guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control at cdc.gov.

Symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough, shortness of breath, repeated shaking with chills, repeated muscle pain, headache, sore throat, new loss of taste or smell.  If you have symptoms, please get tested.  Testing is now open to all Lancaster County residents by appointment only.

The testing process begins with a free online risk assessment available at BryanHealth.com, CHIHealth.com or TestNebraska.com.  Drive through test sites include:

  • Bryan Health: Former Graham Tire Store, northeast corner of 19th and “O” streets.
  • Test Nebraska: Gateway Mall, 6100 “O” St., north parking lot of the former Sears store, 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.  For more information visit testnebraska.com or call 402-207-9377.
  • CHI Health St. Elizabeth: Autumn Ridge Family Medicine, 5000 North 26th St. and Southwest Family Health, 1240 Aries Drive.  Call either site to schedule an appointment: Autumn Ridge at 402-435-5300 and South West Family at 402-420-1300.

According to the Health Department, a flu vaccination is the most effective way to reduce the risk of getting influenza.  The flu vaccine is easily accessible, and the public is encouraged to contact health care providers or find a community flu immunization location.

LLCHD will provide free flu immunizations to anyone age 6 months and older. For more information, call 402-441-8065 or visit lincoln.ne.gov/vaccine.

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