DHHS Asking Nebraskans With Recent Travel to China to Contact Local Health Department

​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 partners continue to closely monitor the unfolding outbreak of respiratory illness caused by the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV). The virus originated in China and has spread beyond the country's borders with confirmed cases now reported in multiple other countries including 11 in the United States. So far, there have been no cases identified in Nebraska.

In accordance with the recently declared public health emergency, the U.S. government implemented temporary measures to increase the ability to detect and contain 2019 n-CoV proactively and aggressively, which include the monitoring and self-isolation of arriving travelers from China. Any citizens arriving in the U.S. from Hubei Province, the epicenter of the outbreak, will be placed under federal quarantine and monitored. Both of these measures went into effect Feb. 2.

DHHS is also asking that travelers who left China within the last two weeks to contact their local health department for guidance and next steps. Informing the local health department of recent travel history to China 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 at 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 China are more likely to have other respiratory illnesses typically seen this time of year like flu, which might also require treatment.

While CDC officials consider 2019 n-CoV a serious public health threat, they say the immediate health risk to the U.S. public continues to be low at this time.

Nebraska public health continues to take action to prevent the spread of disease and protect the health of Nebraskans. Here's what we're doing:

• 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. For the latest advisories, go to http://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/Health-Alert-Network.aspx
• 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 this virus 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 suspected or confirmed case in an effort to immediately detect secondary cases and minimize the potential for ongoing, undetected, person-to-person transmission.

For the most up-to-date 2019-nCoV information and resources, go to dhhs.ne.gov/coronavirus or https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

For frequently asked questions about 2019-nCov, go to https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/faq.html

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Contact information for Nebraska's local health departments

COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENTS

Dakota County Health Department
1601 Broadway Street, Dakota City
Phone: (402) 987-2164
Web site: www.dakotacountyne.org
(Dakota County/Dakota City)

Douglas County Health Department
1111 South 41^st Street, Omaha
Phone: (402) 444-7471
Web site: www.douglascountyhealth.com
(Douglas County/Omaha)

Scotts Bluff County Health Department
1825 10^th Street, Gering
Phone: (308) 436-6636
Web site: www.scottsbluffcounty.org/health-department/health-department.html
(Scotts Bluff County/Gering)

CITY-COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT

DISTRICT HEALTH DEPARTMENTS

East Central District Health Department
4321 41^st Avenue, Columbus  
Phone: (402) 562-8950
Email: bwewel@ecdhd.ne.gov
Web site: 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
Web site: 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
Web site: 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, Burwell
Phone: (308) 346-5795; Toll-Free: (866) 522-5795
Web site: 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  
Web site: 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
Web site: 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
Web site: 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
Web site: 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
Web site: 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
Web site: 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
Web site: 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
Web site: 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
Web site: 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  
Web site: 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  
Web site: 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.