The Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department's COVID-19 risk dial has been moved closer to red, Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird announced at a Friday afternoon news conference.
The dial's move from low to mid orange comes as worrying trends have emerged in the community, she said, and the dial reflects the Health Department's concerns about increased spread in the coming weeks.
Gaylor Baird announced 49 new lab-confirmed cases in Lincoln on Friday, bringing the community total to 2,718. The number of deaths remained at 14.
Recoveries are up to 1,008, and hospitalizations are down to 15 from 18 the week prior. Four of the 15 patients hospitalized in Lincoln are from other counties.
Interim health Director Pat Lopez identified a few key indicators that led her and her staff to raise the dial. While day to day case reports are often sporadic and uninformative, weekly case counts have trended upward dramatically, increasing from 85 cases the last week of June to more than 300 each of the past two weeks.
"Our local situation is still far from normal," she said.
The most substantial increase in cases continues to be among young adults, Lopez said, particularly those aged 20 to 29. While this demographic accounts for only 18.9% of the community's population, they comprise 53% of new cases this month.
Much of this spike can be attributed to a few bars in downtown Lincoln, she said, where people have described crowded areas and low rates of mask wearing. As core drivers of increased infections locally, Lopez said younger residents should consider staying home or wearing masks when they attend bars and parties.
“I urge young adults to consider the risks before you go out," she said.
An increase in the cumulative positivity rate of tests in the community from 6.4% at the beginning of the month to 6.8% this week was also a factor in raising the dial, Lopez said.
Gaylor Baird hopes the city's new mask mandate, which was implemented Monday, will significantly temper the increase in cases.
While there has been some backlash, she said, feedback on the measure has been predominantly positive.
“We continue to urge everyone in our community to embrace the practice of wearing masks," she said.
Statewide, there were 24,174 cases and 316 deaths linked to the virus as of Friday evening.
The Nebraska Department of Correctional Services said Friday there had been four new cases among its staff members this week, bringing the department's total to 37. Of those cases, 33 have recovered. The staff members who tested positive this week work at the Lincoln Correctional Center, the Diagnostic and Evaluation Center, the Omaha Correctional Center and the Nebraska State Penitentiary.
In Douglas County, 15 correctional officers and one contractor for the Douglas County Department of Corrections have tested positive in the last two weeks, as well as seven inmates. Four of the inmates tested positive before they were booked into the facility. Contract tracing is being conducted, and 130 staff members and inmates are being tested as a result.
Reach the writer at 402-473-7223 or nmcconnell@journalstar.com.
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July 25, 2020 at 05:48AM
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Risk dial moves closer to red as 49 new COVID-19 cases reported in Lincoln - Lincoln Journal Star
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