Wednesday Dec. 30 COVID-19 update: Douglas County reports 538 new cases, Lincoln reports 2 new deaths

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

Douglas County

The Douglas County Department reported 538 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday.

A seven-day average total number of cases reported this week, as of yesterday, is 273.

Two new deaths were reported. One man in his 60s and another man in his 70s. There have been a total of 478 deaths in the county.

The total number of cases since the pandemic began is now at 52,439.

The positivity rate for the week ending Saturday was 26.7%, with 2,012 new cases from 7,536 tests. That rate is lower than the previous week’s rate of 29.1%.

As of their most recent report, medical and surgical beds were at 82% occupancy, with 274 beds available. ICU beds are occupied at a 73% rate with 90 beds available.

A total of 32,217 residents have recovered since the start of the pandemic.

Lancaster County reports two new deaths

The Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department reported on Wednesday that two people died from COVID-19.

The deaths included a man in his 60s who was hospitalized and a woman in her 60s in hospice care. On behalf of the City, Mayor Gaylor Baird expresses condolences to their families and friends.

The total number of deaths in Lancaster County is now 152.

LLCHD reported that as of Saturday, Lancaster County’s COVID-19 case rate was 6,895 cases per 100,000 population. That compares with Douglas County’s rate of about 9,000 cases and Hall County’s rate of about 9,495. Looking at fatality rates as of Saturday, Lancaster County’s was 6.6 deaths per 1,000 cases, while Douglas County’s was 9 and Hall County’s was 15.8.

LLCHD reports 225 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Lancaster County today, bringing the community total to 22,461.

7 state corrections staffers test positive

The Nebraska Department of Corrections on Wednesday reported seven staff members had tested positive at facilities around the state and were isolating at home.

Two such employees work at Tecumseh State Correctional Institution; two at the Nebraska State Penitentiary; one at the Community Corrections Center in Omaha; another at the Nebraska Correctional Youth Facility; and one more at the Central Office, according to an NDCS release.

The new cases bring the total number of NDCS staff members diagnosed with COVID-19 to 468; 386 of those people have recovered.

We know that feeling when the holiday season is coming to an end. Pick up your phone, call a friend or family to lift...
Posted by Douglas County Health Department on Wednesday, December 30, 2020

There’s a lot of talk about the COVID-19 vaccine and you may have a lot of questions.

Will it give me COVID-19 or affect my health?
What do I need to know if I’m pregnant or breastfeeding?

Get 30 answers to 30 common questions: https://t.co/w8K4txGS4A #COVID19 #covidvaccine pic.twitter.com/03xiEDa09D
— Bryan Health (@Bryan_Health) December 29, 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.