CDHD: updated health measure, Phase III effective as of July 6

“At this time, and in communication with the governor, we believe that our COVID numbers support our transition to Directed Health Measure (DHM) Phase III on July 6, 2020,” said Central District Health Department Director Teresa Andersen. “Our attention to slowly advancing from Phase I to Phase III is paying off in good health for our community.”

Details of DHM Phase III and COVID-19 Nebraska guidance documents can be found at: http://dhhs.ne.gov/ Pages/COVID-19-Nebraska- GuidanceDocuments.aspx.

According to the CDHD COVID-19 viral activity in the Central District is down. For the last three weeks, each of the district’s three counties have had a positivity rate of less than 10 percent.

“We attribute the steady decline in viral activity to our community’s cooperation,” Andersen continued. “We see more people wearing masks every day. Wearing masks or cloth face coverings is a vital part of preventing the spread of the virus. We know that some people who carry the virus do not have symptoms and can unknowingly spread the virus to others. We also know that people can spread the virus before they start to feel ill.”

Many people wear masks to protect others from getting ill along with staying healthy themselves.

“Even though our COVID-19 numbers are low, we know that the virus is still present in our community,” she said. “Many people who test positive are not aware that they have been around someone with COVID-19. This tells us that there continues to be low level community spread. If we continue to practice safe health measures now and in the future until such time as we have vaccine available, we can keep the viral activity low.”

The Central District Health Department will continue to require event forms to be completed for those planning gatherings for indoor and outdoor facilities that have capacity of 500 or more. This form serves as a guidance document for planning safe gatherings that minimize the possibility of spreading the virus. It can be found on the CDHD website at cdhd.ne.gov.

“Additionally, we are working with long-term care facilities to help them complete the requirements to move into Phase III, which includes COVID-19 testing of all staff,” Andersen reported. “We are working closely with schools in the district to develop COVID-19 plans for return to classrooms in the fall. And we are working to build CDHD capacity for the next surge of COVID.”

Andersen also reported the CDHD’s concerns with the news of rapidly increasing COVID activity in other states. Because the calander was entering holiday weekends (with the Fourth of July) and because the transition to Phase III was not effective until July 6, the CDHD continued to stress social distancing and use of a face mask on a regular basis.

Any questions regarding proper use should be directed to the CDHD.

“Staying safe while enjoying time with family and friends is more important than ever,” Andersen concluded.