Last Sunday marked the two year anniversary of the first COVID-19 case in Lancaster County. Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird says thanks to the positive steps residents have taken health care workers are finally feeling relief.
“The number of new cases reported daily has dropped to single digits and we have not had a death from COVID-19 since March 10. Given our progress, our Risk Dial is moving to green, indicating a low risk of the virus spreading in our community,” Gaylor Baird says.
She says the last time we were in green was late July of 2021. “We reached this milestone because of you, our residents, and the positive actions you’ve taken to protect yourself and others. Gaylor Baird says more than 66 percent of Lancaster County residents are fully vaccinated and nearly 60 percent have received a booster.
Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Director Pat Lopez says the only metric that remains in yellow is hospitalizations, but they continue to decline. The positivity rate is down to 3-point-four percent.
Lopez said the future course of the pandemic remains uncertain, and they are closely monitoring other variants like BA.2, another version of omicron thought to be more transmissible. So far, 18 cases of BA.2 have been identified in Nebraska, including one Lancaster County case reported on Tuesday.