Friday Dec. 18 COVID-19 update: Douglas County reports 512 new cases, 12 deaths

(WOWT) - Here is a summary of new cases and other COVID-19 stats reported today by health officials across Nebraska & Iowa.

Douglas County

The Douglas County Health Department reported 512 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday and 12 new deaths.

The total number of cases since the pandemic began is now 48,692. The previous week which ended Saturday saw a positivity rate of 28.1%, a decrease from 30.2% the previous week. Similarly, the county’s risk dial nudged down from 3.7 to 3.5, though remained in the red, or “severe,” category.

The number of deaths in Douglas County is now 435. Six men ranging in age from their 50s to 89 and six women ranging in age from their 70s to 80s have passed away.

As of their most recent report, medical and surgical beds were at 79% occupancy, with 318 beds available. ICU beds are occupied at a 72% rate with 93 beds available.

A total of 25,488 residents have recovered since the start of the pandemic.

Iowa update

(AP) - Iowa officials are reporting an additional 1,905 new virus cases over the previous 24 hours as virus spread continues to slow in the state.

The state reported 701 people in hospitals on Friday and 96 patients with COVID-19 admitted in the past 24 hours, both numbers lower than just a week ago. State health officials recorded no additional deaths on Friday. The state has reported 238 deaths since Monday.

Gov. Kim Reynolds this week relaxed restrictions on bars and restaurants, on social gatherings and sports events citing a slowdown in virus spread since mid-November.

And so it begins. First rounds of #CovidVaccine for @UNMC_ID. We cannot express our emotions, but there were tears, cheers & a million smiles. @NebraskaMed @unmc #IGotTheShot pic.twitter.com/kohsePgTyK
— UNMC ID (@UNMC_ID) December 17, 2020

REFERENCE NOTE -- 6 News pulls data from Nebraska and Iowa COVID-19 dashboards at 6 p.m. daily. All other reports in this post come from official news releases from area health departments and other authorities as stated.