First COVID-19 cases hit region’s health district
Sooner or later, it was inevitable—COVID-19 has hit the Southwest Nebraska Public Health Department district with two of the nine counties reporting active cases.
Myra Stoney of McCook, director of the SWNPHD, said one case, a male in his 30s, occurred in Red Willow County by community transmission.
The other two were males in their 20s from Furnas County. One case was related to travel out of the health district while the other came in direct contact with the first person.
Perkins County continues to evade an active case, along with Keith, Chase, Hayes, Dundy, Hitchcock and Frontier Counties in the SWNPHD.
Stoney credited the people throughout the district for following the health directives to limit the spread of the virus.
In addition, being in a rural area has also helped keep the virus in check.
Stoney defined community transmission as when someone has COVID-19 and public health officials are unable to identify how or where the individual became infected.
Direct contact is when someone has been around a person with confirmed COVID-19 for longer than 10 minutes and within 6 feet or less.
She noted that being at a local grocery store at the same time while shopping with someone who may be infected would not be considered direct contact.
People in direct contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 should begin self monitoring, and if necessary, go into self-quarantine.
Virus in 52 of 93 counties
As of Tuesday morning, seven new counties reported active cases. That’s in addition to 10 counties who reported new cases last week.
So far, 52 of Nebraska’s 93 counties have reported active cases.
Two counties spiked signicantly with Dawson County going from 18 cases last week to 172 this week. Dakota County, which includes Sioux City, went from 2 cases to 51.
Hall County remains a hot spot, going from 214 cases to 531 cases this week. That’s the most of any county in Nebraska.
National Guard test event
On April 17, the Nebraska National Guard held a testing event last week in McCook hosted by SWNPHD. Stoney said they screened 102 people and all test results from this event were negative.
Stoney said the virus is spreading in the community through person-to-person contact and now is the time to use extra caution.
She advised people to limit their contact with others who live outside their home.
It’s important to follow the other directives to limit the spread of the virus:
Continue to maintain social distancing (six feet apart)when out and about. Wear a mask in public. Use hand sanitizer after public contact, and then wash hands immediately after returning home.
Data has shown that 25% of all COVID-19 cases are asymptomatic, meaning those people do not show any symptoms
As a result, asymptomatic carriers may be spreading the disease without knowing it. That’s why wearing a mask in public is important to protect the people around you, she said.
She reminded people that if they are experiencing symptoms including fever, sudden onset of cough and/or shortness of breath, fatigue, and sore throat they should be tested and seek medical attention for possible testing.
See the latest case map on COVID-19 on page 3.