COVID-19 circumstances in Nebraska ticked up final week, ending a six-week stretch of falling virus numbers.
The state reported 1,140 circumstances for the week ending Oct. 19, an 8% improve from 1,052 the earlier week, in line with knowledge from the federal Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention.
Whereas circumstances nationally nonetheless have been falling barely, almost half of the states at the moment are seeing rising numbers, maybe a touch of the winter improve many specialists have been predicting based mostly on rising case numbers in Europe.
At the least two of the brand new coronavirus variants accountable for the rise in circumstances in Europe additionally elevated final week in america, in line with CDC estimates. Nonetheless, these variants had not but made an look in Nebraska’s official variant report.
Nebraska’s improve was the twelfth highest by proportion within the nation. Nonetheless, its per-capita case stage stays comparatively low, the twelfth lowest nationally and a couple of fourth of ranges seen right here as not too long ago as July.
Nonetheless, the state, just like the nation as a complete, is also seeing a rise in different respiratory viruses. The variety of optimistic exams for influenza ticked up final week and circumstances of respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, continued on a steep upward curve.
Well being officers have continued to encourage individuals to get flu pictures and the most recent bivalent booster for COVID-19. Of Individuals who’ve gotten a major collection of the vaccine, about 111.4 million have gotten a booster and 19.4 million have gotten the brand new pictures, in line with the CDC. However 49.5% of the overall booster-eligible inhabitants has not obtained a booster.
Nebraska’s COVID hospitalizations remained flat, with a mean of 130 Nebraskans hospitalized each day with the virus. The state additionally recorded seven new deaths. The CDC’s revised totals now say Nebraska’s variety of confirmed or possible deaths for the pandemic is at 4,546 and its complete variety of COVID circumstances tops 532,000.