Nebraska unveils plan to boost virus testing as cases rise
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska will over the next few weeks dramatically increase the number of people tested for the coronavirus using a program that was recently launched in Utah and Iowa, Gov. Pete Ricketts said Tuesday.
Ricketts urged residents to visit testnebraska.com, a website that will allow them to get a free, voluntary health assessment. People who have symptoms, have been exposed to the coronavirus or have traveled to hot spots will be eligible for free drive-thru tests.
The partnership with a coalition of private companies will allow the state to test up 3,000 residents per day in about five weeks, up from its current average of 600 to 800 tests.
Ricketts said health care responders will get first priority for testing, followed by people with obvious symptoms, people with a few symptoms and then people with no symptoms who suspect they’re infected and want the test.
“Every Nebraskan can be part of this fight,” Ricketts said at his weekday coronavirus news conference.
Ricketts said state and company officials are still working on ways to serve people who don’t have internet access. One option is a call center. He said more testing it also key to helping businesses reopen in an orderly manner.
The announcement follows a surge in confirmed cases in the last three days, bringing Nebraska’s total to 1,648, including 33 deaths. Hall County in south-central Nebraska has seen a surge so large that it surpassed Omaha’s Douglas County, which has about nine times as many residents. Hall County’s outbreak is largely driven by local meatpacking and food-processing companies that required employees to work close together.
Nearly 16,500 people had been tested statewide as of Tuesday morning.
Ricketts also announced that new hospital capacity information will get released daily on the state’s online coronavirus tracking portal. On Tuesday, the website showed that 41% of the state’s hospital beds were open, 78% of its ventilators were available for use and 58% of the intensive care unit beds were unoccupied.
Meanwhile, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services said in a news release that three of the deaths reported Monday were in a hard-hit area of south-central Nebraska. They included a woman in her 60s from Hamilton County, and a woman in her 80s and a man in his 60s, both from Hall County.
The other two deaths came from the Omaha area in Douglas County, where a man in his 40s and a man in his 70s — both with underlying health conditions — died of the disease.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness.
News of the new cases came after Gov. Pete Ricketts announced on Monday that he will lift the state’s ban on elective surgeries for hospitals that have at least 30% of their beds, intensive-care unit space and ventilators available. Hospitals must also have at least two weeks worth of personal protective equipment in stock. The order also applies to veterinary and dental services, Ricketts said.
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Associated Press reporter Margery A. Beck contributed from Omaha.