The Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department announced Tuesday that the COVID-19 Risk Dial will move from low yellow to mid-yellow. The yellow position on the dial means that the risk of the virus spreading in the community is moderate.
“Cases increased again over the last week, but hospitalizations are holding steady. We continue to actively monitor the situation,” says Health Director Pat Lopez. “The pandemic is not done, although we wish it were. Please consider your own personal risk level and what actions you can take to minimize that risk.”
Public health recommendations remain the same. The Health Department cited the following indicators for the dial move:
- Cases have increased for six consecutive weeks and are now up to 397 cases for the week ending May 14.
- Wastewater analysis shows a substantial increase in COVID-19 virus particles compared to the previous two weeks.
- The local positivity rate is now 14%, which is up from 10.2% the week ending May 7.
The seven-day average of COVID-19 patients hospitalized locally is 22. On Tuesday local hospitals are reporting 25 COVID-19 patients with 18 from Lancaster County. One death was reported on Tuesday, a woman in her 90’s who was vaccinated and not hospitalized.