COVID-19 Risk dial in Red for Fifth Week

Published on December 04, 2020

Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird and the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department (LLCHD) today said the COVID-19 Risk Dial remains in red for the fifth week, indicating that the risk of the virus spreading in the community is severe.  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 Friday. 

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

Health Director Pat Lopez said November was the worst month of the pandemic so far in Lancaster County. 

• Thirty-four Lancaster County residents died from COVID-19 in November, 40 percent of all COVID-19 deaths to date.   
• About 40 percent of all new cases were reported in November. 
• At the end of October, the weekly case count was 890.  By the last week in November, we were up to 1,876 new cases a week, an increase of 111 percent.
• At the end of October, the seven-day rolling average of new daily cases was 124. By the end of November, the average had increased to 278, a 124 percent increase. 
• At the end of October, the weekly positivity rate was 13.3 percent, but by the end of November, the rate was up to 29.6 percent, increasing 123 percent.
• The number of daily COVID-19 patients hospitalized was 84 at the end of October. At the end of November, the number of daily hospitalizations was up to 172, a 105 percent increase.

Lopez said December is also starting off with concerning data.  For the week starting Sunday, November 29, 19 Lancaster County residents have died from COVID-19, a new weekly high.  On Tuesday, December 1, 98 Lancaster County residents were hospitalized, a new daily high.   As of this morning, 87 percent of all staffed inpatient beds at the three main hospitals are occupied.  

Mayor Gaylor Baird said statistics tell us that in a gathering of 10 people in Lancaster County, there is a 37 percent chance that one person has the virus.  In a gathering of 25 people, the chance that one person has the virus is 67 percent. 

“With the degree of community spread we are currently experiencing, the odds are that someone in our close circle has this virus,” she said. “Even with our admirable collective efforts, we still have gaps in our defense against this destructive virus.  We are only as strong as our weakest link, and there is still more we can do to claim power over this pathogen.  We must remain vigilant.”   

For more information, visit COVID19.lincoln.ne.gov or call the Health Department hotline at 402-441-8006.