No new coronavirus cases at Nebraska youth center in Kearney

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Officials at Nebraska’s Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Center in Kearney have seen no new coronavirus cases since a small outbreak earlier this month, a state administrator said Thursday.

Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services CEO Dannette Smith said most of the staff members who were exposed to the virus are returning to work, and the three boys who tested positive for the virus are now out of quarantine.

“They are doing fine, they are back in with the general population and doing very well,” Smith said during a live town hall event on NET.

Smith said a few of the facility’s employees are currently out sick, but not with the coronavirus.

The local public health department and the Nebraska National Guard set up on-site testing earlier this month for the center’s more than 160 residents and staff.

For most people, COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. Older adults and people with existing health problems are among those particularly susceptible to more severe illnesses.