Community Risk Dial Moved to Orange for Southwest Public Health District
Southwest Nebraska Public Health Department (SWNPHD) has moved the COVID-19 Community Risk Dial for the week of December 14th to orange, meaning residents of southwest Nebraska are at high risk of contracting COVID-19. The risk dial was lowered from red to orange thanks in part to many people in the health district making an extra effort to follow the steps that decrease the spread of COVID-19. SWNPHD congratulates those efforts and encourages everyone to continue to be vigilant through the holiday season to keep our area at a safer risk level and ease the burden on our hospitals and clinics.
One of the best ways to keep our communities safer is to wear a mask or face covering when you will be around people you do not live with. Masks work by trapping the droplets that the virus is living in, so you do not breathe in what someone else has breathed out. These droplets are larger than the viruses themselves, which is why they become trapped while air is still able to pass through. Masks are better at trapping droplets when they have more than one layer and when they fit well, meaning they cover your nose and mouth without large gaps.
More orange level recommendations include washing hands and surfaces often, limiting travel, and working from home when possible. High-risk and vulnerable individuals should avoid public places, since there is still a great deal of community spread of COVID-19 occurring in all nine counties.
The governor of Nebraska has also lowered the Directed Health Measures (DHMs) based on the amount of hospital capacity used for COVID patients statewide, which has dropped below 20%. Local health departments like SWNPHD still make their own recommendations for their health districts, based on the situations in their counties. This includes criteria such as the number of positive cases compared to the number being tested, the amount of community spread occurring, the availability of testing for COVID-19, and conditions at local hospitals and clinics.
