LLCHD COVID-19 Risk Dial increases to moderate risk

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - The Lincoln Lancaster-County Health Department COVID-19 Risk Dial increased to moderate (yellow) risk on Tuesday. This is the first time since March 22.

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 was in green for the past seven weeks.

According to Health Director Pat Lopez, the increase is partially due to rising Omicron sub-variants.

LLCHD said current Lancaster County case data shows that cases have increased for the past five weeks, from 62 cases in the week of April 2 to 301 cases in the week of May 7. Wastewater COVID-19 Surveillance data supports this.

The positivity rate for COVID testing is also up, reaching 10.2% as of the week of May 7.

“COVID-19 is still here, and cases are once again starting to increase locally,” Lopez said. “Our actions have helped shaped the course of the pandemic, and they continue to do so. Please consider your own person risks, and the actions you can take to minimize that risk.”

The LLCHD reported the seven-day average of COVID-19 patients hospitalized locally is holding steady. From April 7 to May 7, hospitalizations have fluctuated between 15 and 19 patients. Local hospitals are reporting 30 patients with 22 from Lancaster County.

No COVID-19 deaths have been reported in May. 

No Directed Health Measure is planned at this time.

“As I mentioned, we don’t know if this uptick will lead to a larger surge,” Lopez said. “We’ll be monitoring the situation closely, and it’s impact on our community. If we continue to see significant changes, we’ll be back with another briefing to help keep everyone informed.”

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