CONTACT
Leah Bucco-White, Communications, (402) 309-4157,
leah.bucco-white@nebraska.gov
Data enhancements for DHHS dashboard. New DHMs in effect for many counties starting Monday.
LINCOLN – The state case total, as of 5:45 p.m. CT today is 37,841, an increase of 2,180 from last Friday. There were 30 new COVID-19-related deaths in the state, for a total of 434. A total of 28,816 Nebraskans diagnosed with COVID-19 have since recovered.
The daily average of positive cases for Sept. 5-11 is 311, compared to a daily average of 318 last week, and 259 and 234 in recent weeks.
New Dashboard Enhancements Coming Monday
The COVID-19 data dashboard continues to be enhanced since appearing on the DHHS public website in March. On Monday the dashboard will now have data on weekly positivity rates by collection date as well as lab turnaround time for processing COVID-19 tests.
You can access the dashboard at https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/ece0db09da4d4ca68252c3967aa1e9dd
If you use Internet Explorer, the link is https://nebraska.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/26d5a0dac95449d7813c9323d7a41c36
DHM Update
Effective today, the Panhandle Public Health District is the fourth region to move to Phase 4 of the state's Directed Health Measures. The rest of Nebraska counties that are currently in Phase 3 will move to Phase 4 on Monday, and continue until Oct. 31 unless hospitalizations change dramatically. The move to Phase 4 applies to every health department jurisdiction in the state, but Lancaster County intends to keep some Phase 3 restrictions in place.
An outline of Phase 4 DHMs is available at http://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/COVID-19-Directed-Health-Measures.aspx. Guidelines associated with these next steps are also posted at http://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/COVID-19-Nebraska-Guidance-Documents.aspx.
Regardless of the county of residence, all Nebraskans are urged to continue to take the following preventive actions below to help limit COVID-19 transmission:
COVID-19 Testing Through Test Nebraska
Those who may have been exposed to COVID-19 or who are experiencing symptoms can receive a free test through Test Nebraska. Symptoms can include a fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, tiredness, muscle aches, headaches, loss of taste or smell, sore throat, runny nose, nausea or vomiting, and diarrhea.
Visit Testnebraska.com, or use TestNebraska/es for Spanish, to schedule a visit at one of more than 60 locations across the state.
Nebraskans with general questions about testing or who need help completing the online assessment can call the Test Nebraska hotline at (402) 207-9377.
Isolation and Quarantine Critical to Slowing Spread of COVID-19
Isolation and quarantine help protect others from exposure to COVID-19. Anyone testing positive for COVID-19 is asked to isolate and any close contacts identified by contact tracers are asked to quarantine.
Isolation is used to separate sick people from healthy people to prevent the spread of disease. A 10-day isolation period is the standard for those testing positive for COVID-19. Isolation can end when three criteria are met: it's been 10 days since the onset of symptoms, there's been no fever for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication, and any other symptoms are improving.
Quarantine is used to separate healthy people who may have been exposed to disease to see if they become sick. Those who might have had recent exposure to COVID-19 are asked to quarantine away from others, especially those at higher risk, for 14 days and monitor for any symptoms.
Nebraskans seeking information or help with general questions can call the DHHS COVID-19 information hotline at (402) 552-6645, or toll-free (833) 998-2275. The COVID-19 hotline is open 8 a.m.-8 p.m. CT, 7 days a week. DHHS will continue to share new information via the DHHS website, http://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/Coronavirus.aspx, as well as on Facebook and Twitter.