Covid Risk Dial Moving Down Despite Two More Deaths In Lincoln

Lincoln, NE (February 16, 2021) The Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department (LLCHD) today announced that two more residents have died from COVID-19.  The deaths were a woman in her 50s and a man in his 70s who were both hospitalized. The total number of deaths in Lancaster County is now 212.  LCHD reports 29 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Lancaster County today, bringing the community total to 27,563.

Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird said the Health Department and City Officials are working their way through a priority list that is based on guidelines provided by the State.  The next group to begin receiving shots, according to the Mayor, is those 73 and over.

The COVID-19 Risk Dial has been moved from elevated yellow to mid-yellow as key indicators continue to improve.  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 is updated every Tuesday.

The position of the Risk Dial is based on multiple local indicators and information from the previous three weeks.

• The seven-day rolling average of new daily cases has dropped from 135 on January 24 to 49 on February 13.  The number of new weekly cases has been below 1,000 for five consecutive weeks and below 500 for the past two weeks.  The number of weekly cases has not been that low since the week ending August 28.
• The positivity rate has dropped from 29.1 percent three weeks ago to 18 percent for the week ending February 13.
• The number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized locally has declined from 116 on January 16 to 27 this past weekend, a 77 percent decline.

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