The Lincoln – Lancaster County COVID-19 Risk Dial remains in the Red, or severe risk of spread for week seven. There are two more deaths in Lancaster County Friday bringing the total number to 135. The deaths included a woman in her 90s who was in a long-term care facility, and a man in his 40s who was hospitalized.
There are 149 new cases new cases Friday bringing the community total total to 20,741. The positivity rate is at 27.4% for this week through December 18th compared to 27.1% for the week ending December 12th.
There are 86 people hospitalized as of Friday afternoon.
Health Director Pat Lopez says the next priority groups to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine are rural firefighters and staff at long-term care facilities. Despite the loosening of DHM restrictions today, Lopez urged the public to remain vigilant . She said she is concerned by the decrease in Covid tests being administered and that it is a statewide trend.
The testing process begins with a free online risk assessment available at BryanHealth.com, CHIHealth.com or TestNebraska.com. Drive through test sites include:
- Bryan Health: Former Graham Tire Store, northeast corner of 19th and “O” streets.
- Test Nebraska: Gateway Mall, 6100 “O” St., north parking lot of the former Sears store, 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. For more information visit testnebraska.com or call 402-207-9377.
- CHI Health St. Elizabeth: Autumn Ridge Family Medicine, 5000 North 26th St. and Southwest Family Health, 1240 Aries Drive. Call either site to schedule an appointment: Autumn Ridge at 402-435-5300 and South West Family at 402-420-1300.