The COVID-19 Risk Dial will move from elevated orange to mid-orange. This is the first time the dial has been in mid-orange since the beginning of October. While many indicators are improving, the risk of the virus spreading in the community remains high. On the color-coded dial, red represents the highest risk of COVID-19 spread, and green represents the lowest risk. The dial is updated weekly.
The position of the Risk Dial is based on multiple local indicators and information from the previous three weeks.
- Testing numbers continue to be down, and last week’s numbers were impacted by the snow storm. Drive-through testing sites were closed for a few days, and fewer people ventured out to clinic offices or pharmacies to get tested. As a result, just over 2,000 tests were completed last week, about 1,300 fewer than the previous two weeks. LLCHD reminds the public that testing remains widely available in Lincoln and is a very valuable tool in preventing the spread of the virus.
- The low testing numbers are one reason for the lower number of new cases reported. For the week ending January 30, 546 cases were reported, the lowest number of weekly cases since mid-September. The seven-day rolling average of new daily cases dropped from 144 on January 22 to 78 on January 30.
- The positivity rate also decreased from 29.2 percent the week ending January 23 to 26.7 percent the week ending January 30.
- The number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized locally continues to decline. From mid-December through January 20, hospitalizations stayed at about 100 patients. Over the past two weeks, local hospitalizations have dropped to about 50 to 60 patients. Local hospitalizations have dropped in the last two weeks and are now down to about 50 to 60 patients.
For more information, visit COVID19.lincoln.ne.gov or call the Health Department hotline at 402-441-8006.
Source: Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department News Release