CONTACT
Leah Bucco-White, Communications and Legislative Services, (402) 471-9356
leah.bucco-white@nebraska.gov
Lincoln – The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and its public health partners continue to closely track the unfolding outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and anticipate its impact on Nebraska and its health care systems. The virus originated in China and has spread to multiple other countries including the United States. So far, there have been no cases identified in Nebraska residents.
“Ensuring the health of Nebraskans is our main priority and public health officials continue to actively monitor self-isolated Nebraska residents who recently returned from China," said Dr. Tom Safranek, State Epidemiologist for DHHS. “Based on the spread of COVID-19 and an increase in cases in other countries, DHHS is now including Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Iran, Italy, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, along with China. We're asking people with travel to these countries in the last 14 days to either self-report to the Nebraska public health online system at http://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/Coronavirus.aspx or contact their local health department for guidance and next steps. Informing the local health department of recent travel history is the most direct way to ensure timely medical care if needed and to minimize the potential risk to others."
A map of Nebraska's local health departments can be found here – http://dhhs.ne.gov/CHPM%20Maps/NE_Health_Dept_Map_Dec_2016.pdf . A list of local health departments along with contact information is provided below.
It is important to remember that people who may become ill upon returning from overseas travel are more likely to have other respiratory illnesses typically seen this time of year like flu, which might also require treatment.
However, it is very possible that we could see travel-related COVID-19 cases in Nebraska residents. State and local public health officials continue to take action to prevent the spread of disease and protect the health of Nebraskans including:
- Sharing the latest guidance and information with local health departments, hospitals, health care providers, first responders and local and state labs through our extensive Health Alert Network to ensure a well-coordinated response in Nebraska. DHHS Health Alert Network - http://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/Health-Alert-Network.aspx
- Assessing our health care system's readiness to identify, monitor and treat patients with coronavirus disease 2019.
- Engaging in active and ongoing communication with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other state and federal partners as part of the overall national response to this emerging public health threat.
- Reviewing and enhancing response plans to be ready for the detection of COVID-19 in our state.
- Facilitating confirmatory testing, isolation and monitoring of Nebraskans experiencing symptoms to identify cases as soon as possible.
- Updating dhhs.ne.gov/coronavirus with the latest information and resources.
- With our local health department partners, we have a system in place to track and monitor people who have contact with a confirmed case in an effort to immediately detect secondary cases and minimize the potential for ongoing, undetected, person-to-person transmission.
Nebraskans are also encouraged to review their family preparedness plans in the event that coronavirus disease 2019 continues to spread in the United States. More resources will be available soon at http://www.dhhs.ne.gov/coronavirus.
People can help protect themselves from COVID-19 and other respiratory infections by:
- Washing hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water aren't available, use an alcohol-based sanitizer.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
- Avoid close contact with sick people and stay home if you are sick.
- Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze then throw the tissue in the trash.
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.
To learn more about COVID-19, go to http://www.dhhs.ne.gov/coronavirus or https://www.cdc.gov/covid19.
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Contact information for Nebraska's local health departments
COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENTS
Dakota County Health Department
1601 Broadway Street/Box 155
Dakota City
Phone: (402) 987-2164
Website: www.dakotacountyne.org
(Dakota County/Dakota City)
Douglas County Health Department
Communicable Disease Epidemiology Section
1111 South 41st Street
Omaha
Phone: (402) 444-7214
Website: www.douglascountyhealth.com
(Douglas County/Omaha)
Scotts Bluff County Health Department
1825 10th Street
Gering
Phone: (308) 436-6636
Website: www.scottsbluffcounty.org/health-department/health-department.html
(Scotts Bluff County/Gering)
CITY-COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT
Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department
3131 “O" Street
Lincoln
Phone: (402) 441-8000
Website: www.lincoln.ne.gov/city/health
(Lancaster County/Lincoln)
DISTRICT HEALTH DEPARTMENTS
Central District Health Department
1137 South Locust Street
Grand Island
Phone: (308) 385-5175 x178; Toll Free: (877) 216-9092
Website: www.cdhd.ne.gov
(Hall County/Grand Island, Hamilton County/Aurora, Merrick County/Central City)
East Central District Health Department
4321 41st Avenue
Columbus
Phone: (402) 562-8950
Email: bwewel@ecdhd.ne.gov
Website: http://ecdhd.ne.gov
(Boone County/Albion, Colfax County/Schuyler, Nance County/Fullerton, Platte County/Columbus)
Elkhorn Logan Valley Public Health Department
Box 779
Wisner
Phone: (402) 529-2233; Toll-Free: (877) 379-4400
Website: www.elvphd.org
(Burt County/Tekamah, Cuming County/West Point, Madison County/Madison, Stanton County/Stanton)
Four Corners Health Department
2101 North Lincoln Avenue
York
Phone: (402) 362-2621; Toll-Free: (877) 337-3573
Website: www.fourcorners.ne.gov
(Butler County/David City, Polk County/Osceola, Seward County/Seward, York County/York)
Loup Basin Public Health Department
934 “I" Street/Box 995
Burwell
Phone: (308) 346-5795; Toll-Free: (866) 522-5795
Website: www.loupbasinhealth.com
(Blaine County/Brewster, Custer County/Broken Bow, Garfield County/Burwell, Greeley County/Greeley, Howard County/St Paul, Loup County/Taylor, Sherman County/Loup City, Valley County/Ord, Wheeler County/Bartlett)
North Central District Health Department
422 East Douglas Street
O'Neill
Phone: (402) 336-2406; Toll Free: (877) 336-2406
Website: www.ncdhd.ne.gov
(Antelope County/Neligh, Boyd County/Butte, Brown County/Ainsworth, Cherry County/Valentine, Holt County/O'Neill, Keya Paha County/Springview, Knox County/Center, Pierce County/Pierce, Rock County/Bassett)
Northeast Nebraska Public Health Department
215 North Pearl Street
Wayne
Phone: (402) 375-2200; 24/7 Phone: (402) 369-3822
Website: www.nnphd.org
(Cedar County/Hartington, Dixon County/Ponca, Thurston County/Pender, Wayne County/Wayne)
Panhandle Public Health District
808 Box Butte Avenue
Hemingford
Phone: (308) 487-3600
Website: www.pphd.org
(Banner County/Harrisburg, Box Butte County/Alliance, Cheyenne County/Sidney, Dawes County/Chadron, Deuel County/Chappell, Garden County/Oshkosh, Grant County/Hyannis, Kimball County/Kimball, Morrill County/Bridgeport, Scotts Bluff County/Gering, Sheridan County/Rushville, Sioux County/Harrison)
Public Health Solutions District Health Department
995 East Highway 33/Suite 1
Crete
Phone: (402) 826-3880
Website: http://phsneb.org
(Fillmore County/Geneva, Gage County/Beatrice, Jefferson County/Fairbury, Saline County/Wilber, Thayer County/Hebron)
Sarpy/Cass Health Department
701 Olson Drive/Suite 101
Papillion
Phone: (402) 339-4334 x6978; Toll Free: (800) 645-0134
Website: www.sarpycasshealthdepartment.org
(Cass County/Plattsmouth, Sarpy County/Papillion)
South Heartland District Health Department
606 North Minnesota/Suite 2
Hastings
Phone: (402) 462-6211; Toll Free: (877) 238-7595
Website: southheartlandhealth.org
(Adams County/Hastings, Clay County/Clay Center, Nuckolls County/Nelson, Webster County/Red Cloud)
Southeast District Health Department
2511 Schneider Avenue
Auburn
Phone: (402) 274-3993; Toll Free: (877) 777-0424
Website: www.sedhd.org
(Johnson County/Tecumseh, Nemaha County/Auburn, Otoe County/Nebraska City, Pawnee County/Pawnee City, Richardson County/Falls City)
Southwest Nebraska Public Health Department
404 West 10th Street
McCook
Phone: (308) 345-4223
Website: www.swhealth.ne.gov
(Chase County/Imperial, Dundy County/Benkelman, Frontier County/Stockville, Furnas County/Beaver City, Hayes County/Hayes Center, Hitchcock County/Trenton, Keith County/ Ogallala, Perkins County/Grant, Red Willow/McCook)
Three Rivers Public Health Department
2400 North Lincoln Street
Fremont
Phone: (402) 727-5396; Toll Free: (866) 727-5396
Website: https://threeriverspublichealth.org
(Dodge County/Fremont, Saunders County/Wahoo, Washington County/Blair)
Two Rivers Public Health Department
701 4th Avenue/Suite 1
Holdrege
Phone: (308) 995-4778; Toll Free: (888) 669-7154
Website: http://trphd.org
(Buffalo County/Kearney, Dawson County/Lexington, Franklin County/Franklin, Gosper County/Elwood, Harlan County/Alma, Kearney County/Minden, Phelps County/Holdrege)
West Central District Health Department
111 N Dewey/Suite A
North Platte
Phone: (308) 696-1201
Website: http://wcdhd.org
(Arthur County/Arthur, Hooker County/Mullen, Lincoln County/North Platte, Logan County/Stapleton, McPherson County/Tryon, Thomas County/Thedford)
NOTE: After each county name is the county seat.