The Superior Express -

Hastings, Neb – In the weekly COVID-19 update on January 11, South

Heartland District Health Department (SHDHD) reported daily records of

new COVID-19 cases on Monday and Tuesday. SHDHD also reported logging

increased numbers of cases associated with long-term care facilities in

the past two weeks.

Executive Director Michele Bever said the department is receiving record

numbers of reports confirming COVID-19 infections in the four-county

health district. On Monday and Tuesday, there were 106 and 114 positive

lab reports, respectively, for a total of 220 new cases in the first two

days of the week. This compares to a total of 265 cases for all of the

previous week and 142 for the week prior to that. The previous record

daily count was 89 cases, during the fall surge over a year ago, on

November 30, 2020.

Some of the new cases are associated with long-term care facilities,

where residents are at higher risk of severe illness, hospitalization

and death due to age and underlying health conditions. Bever said in the

past two weeks, 9 resident cases and 24 staff cases of COVID-19 were

reported from 8 affected facilities. The weekly positivity in long-term

care facilities increased from very low (<0.5%) through the month of

December to 4.2% for the week ending January 8.

Community transmission of the virus in the four-county district

continues to worsen, based on the weekly test positivity levels and the

rolling 7-day average of new cases per 100,000 people. Community

positivity was 43.7% for the week ending January 8. Overall positivity

(which includes long term care surveillance testing) increased to 27.9%.

Positivity of 10% or more is considered high community transmission.

In Adams County, weekly community positivity rose to 50%, meaning half

of the individuals who got tested were positive for SARS-CoV-2. In the

other three counties, community positivity ranged from 30%-34%, meaning

about one in every three people who got tested were infected.

The rate of new cases in the district also jumped dramatically, from 398

per 100,000 for the seven days ending last Tuesday to 821 new cases per

100,000 for the most recent 7 days ending Tuesday, January 11, more than

doubling in one week. South Heartland has recorded 8,339 confirmed

infections since the beginning of the pandemic.

Due to the high volume of cases, most people who test positive will not

be receiving a call from the health department. Instead, individuals may

receive an informational text from SHDHD or from Nebraska DHHS. All are

encouraged to visit southheartlandhealth.org for guidance regarding

isolation and quarantine, testing resources and vaccine information.

SHDHD’s hospital dashboard indicated 36% of staffed ICU beds available

and an aggregate census of eight COVID-19 inpatients as of Tuesday

morning’s hospital reports. The percent of hospital inpatients that were

COVID-19 positive was 20%.

“This surge in cases does not bode well for our residents who are at

higher risk or for our local and state health systems, which are already

over-burdened with patients and experiencing staff shortages,” Bever

said. “When community transmission is high, more people who are

medically vulnerable are affected.”

“High transmission also drives more errors – mutations - when many, many

copies of the virus are being made. Mutations can lead to additional

variants that might be even more highly transmissible, cause more severe

illness, or be less responsive to our available treatments,” she said.

“What we can do in our communities, is to double-down on efforts to

reduce spread of the virus,” Bever said.

The health department recommends using multiple layers of prevention to

reduce the risk of infection, severe illness, hospitalization and death,

including:

Getting fully vaccinated and boosted

Getting tested before attending indoor gatherings, especially around

individuals who are at higher risk of severe infection.

Avoiding crowded places or confined indoor spaces

Staying home when you have symptoms

Wearing a mask over your nose and mouth in public indoor settings

Washing hands frequently

Keeping 6 feet distance from others

If you have been exposed to someone with COVID-19, getting tested before

being around others.

The health department is encouraging South Heartland residents to get

fully-vaccinated and boosted as soon as they are eligible. Residents may

contact their personal doctor or the health department if they have

questions about the COVID-19 vaccine, additional doses for

immunocompromised individuals, booster doses, or COVID-19 testing.

COVID-19 vaccines are recommended for anyone 5 years and older. For

locations of COVID-19 tests or COVID-19 vaccine, refer to the SHDHD

website, southheartlandhealth.org