As Governor Pete Ricketts has eased some of the guidelines found in his Directed Health Measures, the number of COVID-19 cases in the Panhandle has increased to 55 as of press time.
On April 28, two positive cases were announced in Scotts Bluff County involving a woman in her 40s and a man in his teens, both are close contacts of previous cases.
Two additional cases in Scotts Bluff County were announced on May 1, including a woman in her 50s and a man in his teens. Those cases, after an investigation by COVID-19 Unified Command Officials, were determined to be cases of community spread.
On May 2, a man in his 30s from Cheyenne County was confirmed to have COVID-19. The man is a close contact of a previously positive case.
Two new cases were announced in Morrill County on Monday. One involves a woman in her teens who is a close contact of a previously positive case, and the other involves a woman in her 50s who is believed to have acquired COVID-19 through community spread.
As of press time, Box Butte County has had one case, Cheyenne County has had seven, Kimball County has had 10, Morrill County has had three and Scotts Bluff County has had 34. There have been a total of 37 recoveries, according to Unified Command.
For the second time, an error led to two positive cases being listed in Dawes County on the state map. Officials confirmed that the listing was in error and that they were working to ameliorate the situation.
“The cases were incorrectly coded to Dawes County and will be reported to Dawson County,” a press release from Unified Command stated.
As the Directed Health Measures begin to ease, Unified Command officials are asking people to maintain healthy habits to continue limiting the spread of COVID-19. Some of the measures include wearing a mask in public, washing hands frequently and implementing proper social distancing.