Officials with the COVID-19 Unified Command have identified Box Butte County’s fourth coronavirus case since March as the number of cases continue to rise throughout the Panhandle.
The case was announced on July 8, involving a man in his 20s. The exposure was identified as a close contact with a previously positive case.
Two more deaths were reported by officials, as well. On July 7, Unified Command announced that a man in his 80s with underlying health conditions in Scotts Bluff County had died.
“We share our deepest condolences with the family of this gentleman,” Paulette Schnell, Director of the Scotts Bluff County Health Department said in a press release. “As a community, it’s critical we continue taking every precaution against the COVID-19 virus for our most vulnerable.”
On July 9, Unified Command announced that a woman in her 70s with underlying health conditions in Scotts Bluff County had died. The total number of deaths related to COVID-19 in the Panhandle is five as of press time.
As of press time, since March 2, there have been a total of 359 positive cases of COVID-19 in the Panhandle: Banner County has had two recoveries, Box Butte County has one active case and three recoveries, Cheyenne County has two active cases and 20 recoveries, Dawes County has had four recoveries, Garden County has had four recoveries, Kimball County has three active cases and 12 recoveries, Morrill County has three active cases and 49 recoveries, Scotts Bluff County has 60 active cases, 177 recoveries and five deaths, Sheridan County has two active cases and six recoveries, and Sioux County has had six recoveries.
Unified Command announced a community exposure site on Monday evening, asking people who attended the Camp Clarke Rodeo on July 4 in Bridgeport to monitor their symptoms.
“The community exposure site is being announced because the positive case is not able to identify all close contacts from the event, social distancing was not practiced,” a press release from Unified Command stated.