Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird and the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department (LLCHD) today announced that the COVID-19 Risk Dial will remain in mid-yellow for a fourth consecutive week as key indicators continue to remain steady. The yellow position on the dial means that the risk of the virus spreading in the community is moderate. On the color-coded dial, red represents the highest risk of COVID-19 spread, and green represents the lowest risk. The dial is updated every Tuesday.
The local Directed Health Measure, which includes the mask mandate, has been extended through April 12.
Health Director Pat Lopez said no local COVID-19 deaths have been reported since February 26. “This is a testament to the progress in vaccinating the most vulnerable populations, including residents living in long-term care facilities and others over the age of 65,” Lopez said. “As we move forward with our vaccination program, we should continue to see fewer deaths and fewer serious COVID-19 infections needing hospitalization.”
The position of the Risk Dial is based on multiple local indicators and information from the previous three weeks.
- The seven-day rolling average of new daily cases fluctuated between 44 and 53 between February 14 and March 6. The number of new weekly cases has been below 350 for four consecutive weeks. For the week ending March 6, the number of new cases was 324.
- The positivity rate decreased from 24 percent the week ending February 20 to 18 percent the week ending March 6.
- The number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized locally has remained steady at about 40 per day, but the number has decreased in the last few days. Today, 25 COVID-19 patients are hospitalized locally, the lowest number since August.
For more information, visit COVID19.lincoln.ne.gov or call the Health Department hotline at 402-441-8006.