COVID-19 Weekly Update – April 11

Published on April 11, 2023

Risk Dial moves to green

The Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department (LLCHD) today announced that the COVID-19 Risk Dial will move to green for the first time since May 2022. The green position on the dial indicates that the risk of the virus spreading in the community is low. On the color-coded dial, red represents the highest risk of COVID-19 spread, and green represents the lowest risk. 

“We’ve seen significant improvement across several key indicators over the past several weeks. With this progress, the risk dial has again reached green,” said Pat Lopez, Health Director.

The risk dial will remain in green until further notice. With the dial in green, the Health Department will suspend its weekly COVID-19 updates. Current public health guidance, vaccination and testing information, and the COVID-19 data dashboard are available at COVID19.lincoln.ne.gov.

The position of the risk dial is based on multiple indicators: 

• The three-week average of cases significantly decreased – to 156 in the last three weeks compared to an average of 214 in the three weeks prior. 126 cases were reported for the week ending April 8.
• The three-week daily rolling average of hospitalizations significantly decreased – 30 in the last three weeks compared to 40 in the three weeks prior.
• The three-week average of viral particles in wastewater remained low.    
• Four COVID-19 deaths were reported over the last three weeks compared to two deaths in the prior three weeks. The total is 480. While the number of deaths is slightly higher and it’s an important indicator, deaths typically occur several weeks after contracting illness.

The Health Department encourages residents to continue to use the tools available to stay safe and healthy including COVID-19 vaccine, at-home testing and COVID-19 treatments.  

The COVID-19 vaccine primary series and updated bivalent booster doses are approved for everyone age 6 months and older. LLCHD offers COVID-19 vaccinations onsite at the Health Department, 3131 “O” St.  Appointments can be scheduled online at COVID19.lincoln.ne.gov or by calling 402-441-4200. Walk-ins are also welcome Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

At-home test kits are available in the main lobby of the Health Department during regular business hours. Test kits are also available at all Lincoln City Library locations. The federal government offers free, at-home tests. Visit covidtests.gov for more information.

For more information on testing or other COVID-19-related topics, visit COVID19.lincoln.ne.gov or call the LLCHD at 402-441-8006.