Case rates double every 10 to 12 days in Lancaster County

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LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – For second week in a row, Lancaster County’s COVID-19 risk dial is heading in the wrong direction; now to high yellow. This is because, according to data from the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department, the daily averages of cases in August reached 68 per day.

That’s a 655% increase since the first week of July, when the average of cases was nine per day.

“The Delta variant is behind the increase in cases, hospitalizations and the positivity rate,” said Pat Lopez, LLCHD director of health. “It’s different and is more likely to cause serious illness, especially in unvaccinated people.”

Since the beginning of July, the moving daily average of hospitalizations in Lincoln has also quadrupled; from 14 per day in early July to 58 per day at the moment. The last time the COVID-19 risk dial was high yellow was the week of February 9, 2021, about six months ago.

The positivity rate reached 10%, up from 3% in early July, according to Dir. López.

Lancaster County recently announced that it will make masks mandatory for children aged 2 to 11 in school settings.

“The more eligible children and staff are immunized, the safer schools will be,” Lopez said. “In Lancaster County, almost 69% of people 16 and over are fully vaccinated. “

Dr Ali Piper, pulmonologist and intensive care physician in Lincoln, explained what she saw firsthand in hospitals in Lincoln.

“We know about COVID. We have seen the darkest days of the pandemic and we are afraid, ”said Dr Piper. “We are scared, defeated and desperate. “

Dr Piper called the current situation frustrating because it was largely preventable. She cited data that she saw in her own experiences. According to her, two weeks ago she was caring for 10 patients with severe COVID-19. Of the ten, nine were unvaccinated, four died and only one recovered.

“I wouldn’t ask you to put on a mask and get vaccinated if I didn’t think it was ultimately necessary to stop this wave,” Dr Piper said. “These patients probably would not have been hospitalized if they had been vaccinated.”

Promoting vaccinations and mask wear, Dr Piper said ignoring the pandemic was not an option.

“You can help by getting vaccinated. You can help by wearing a mask and you can help by masking your children, ”she said.

Vaccination rates have increased in Lancaster County over the past two weeks. So far in August, nearly 3,400 people in Lancaster County have started the process.

Of the 319,000 people in Lancaster County, about 16% or about 51,000 are 11 years old and under, which means they cannot get the vaccine. So far, of the estimated 268,000 people aged 12 and over, around 175,400 have been fully immunized, or about 65.4% of the eligible population.

At this time, there will be no new directed health measures or requirements from the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department.

Director Lopez strongly encouraged anyone attending Garth Brooks’ concert at Memorial Stadium on August 14 to wear a mask, even if it is outside.

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