DOUGLAS COUNTY, Nebraska - Three travelers are the latest confirmed cases of COVID-19 coronavirus in Douglas County. The Health Department reports these two individuals recently returned from areas in the Southeastern United States where COVID-19 is circulating. They are two men in their 40s and a woman in her 30s. These three individuals traveled to different areas and the cases are not connected.
All were tested earlier this week and confirmed March 18 or 19. None of them have been hospitalized. Douglas County now has 26 confirmed cases of the disease.
Community exposures may have occurred at the following times and locations:
- Nebraska Furniture Mart. 700 South 72nd Street, Sunday, March 15 from 2-5 p.m.
- Pearle Vision Center, 147th and West Maple, Monday, March 16 from 3:30 - 4:30 p.m.
- At Home Store, 130th and West Center, Monday, March 16 from 4:30 - 6:00 p.m.
The Health Department is advising that with the development of community spread in Douglas County, precautions to avoid becoming infected with COVID-19 need to be taken everywhere, not just in locations listed as having the potential for exposure. However, DCHD also feels it is important to note that many people who are sick have mild symptoms or no symptoms at all. The CDC reports that four out of five people who have become ill acquired the disease from someone who didn’t know they had it. That means there are likely many more people in the community who are infected with COVID-19 than have been reported. Please increase your awareness of COVID-19 symptoms, which include a fever, cough, sore throat, or difficulty breathing. If you have COVID-19 symptoms, or develop symptoms, contact your health care provider and tell them how you are feeling. Please notify them of any potential exposure to a confirmed case of the novel coronavirus. We ask that you call ahead before you go to the doctor’s office or an emergency room.
DCHD’s information line remains open to anyone with general questions about COVID-19. That number, (402) 444-3400, is answered seven days a week from 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. Nebraska DHHS has a COVID-19 information line open from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. daily at (402) 552-6645. Any person who has questions outside those hours is asked to call the United Way’s 2-1-1 Resource Hotline.