With the total number of coronavirus cases in the Panhandle reaching 185 as of press time, Box Butte County saw a new case of COVID-19 confirmed by health officials.
The new case, involving a woman in her 70s, was the result of a community spread, according to members of the COVID-19 Unified Command. The new case was announced with six other cases throughout the Panhandle on Monday. The new case in Box Butte County brings the county’s total to three confirmed since officials began tracking the spread of the virus. The two previous cases in Box Butte County were declared as recovered.
Since June 2, the 34 new cases have been confirmed. As of Monday, the number of cases in the Panhandle were as follows: Banner County has one active case, Cheyenne County has two active cases and nine recoveries, Dawes County has one recovery, Garden County has four active cases, Kimball County has 10 recoveries cases, Morrill County has one active case and 10 recoveries, and Scotts Bluff County has 88 active cases and 56 recoveries.
Drive-thru testing was offered Thursday morning in Alliance. A total of 28 tests were completed, and all of the tests returned negative.
Testing will now be available at the Community Action Health Center in Gering. Testing is open to people who are showing symptoms of COVID-19 and will be available on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 7 to 8 a.m. People are encouraged to sign up for testing at https://tinyurl.com/Y8P6YU02.