COVID-19 Risk Dial Now in Red Position

Published on January 04, 2022

The Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department (LLCHD) today announced that the COVID-19 Risk Dial is now in the red position, 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 risk dial first went into red on November 6, 2020 and remained there for about 10 consecutive weeks until January 19, 2021. It has not been in the red position since then.

Health Director Pat Lopez said that over the past few weeks many of the key indicators used to determine the dial position have continued to move in the wrong direction. Case and positivity rates have quickly increased, hospitalizations and deaths remain high and the large number of cases is causing difficulty with contact tracing.

“The choices we make on a daily basis affect our level of risk and the risk we may pose to others,” Lopez said. “We have the tools to combat COVID-19 – vaccinations, boosters, masking, testing, treatments, distancing, isolating, handwashing – and we continue to call on the community to use them.”

Updated guidance and recommendations can be found at covid19.lincoln.ne.gov.

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 cases has increased sharply, from an average of 128 cases beginning December 27 to 218 cases by December 31.
• The positivity rate has also jumped higher. It has increased from 11.9% to 16.7% the week ending January 1.
• The seven-day rolling average of COVID -19 patients hospitalized locally increased from 112 on December 24 to an average of 121 for the week ending January 1. Today, our local hospitals report 113 COVID-19 patients with 17 on ventilators. 72 of the patients are Lancaster County residents. 
• Three residents have died in 2022. Our community lost a total of 26 residents to COVID-19 in December and a total of 201 in 2021.

All Lancaster County residents ages 5 and older are eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccine and booster doses are recommended for those age 16 and older. People can walk into any clinic or schedule an appointment at covid19.lincoln.ne.gov. Residents can also find a local pharmacy offering vaccinations at vaccines.gov or by texting their ZIP code to 438829. Those who don’t have online access or need assistance can call 402-441-4200.

More than 64% of all Lancaster County residents are now fully vaccinated. About 55% of residents age 16 and older have now received a booster dose or third dose. Nearly 24% of children ages 5 through 11 are fully vaccinated.

For general information on COVID-19, visit covid19.lincoln.ne.gov or call the Health Department hotline at 402-441-8006.