As of Tuesday evening there were 38 confirmed cases of COVID-19 Coronavirus in Douglas County. But Dr. Mark Rupp, an infectious disease specialist at UNMC, believes there are more cases that haven't been reported.
"We haven't been able to do wide spread population testing to figure out the penetrance into the community," Rupp told KFAB's News. "Undoubtedly, we have more cases than have been reflected in those case numbers and folks should not be complacent at this point."
Rupps says we will need to continue social distancing for the next couple of months. "This really is in our hands right now and this is our once chance to blunt the penetration of this illness into our community," Rupp says. "And if we all act together and do the right thing we're not going to turn into other cities that are having much greater problems."
Rupp says President Trump's plan to restart the economy by Easter is an overly ambitious goal. "The worst thing we can do is to prematurely cease the social distancing and then spark off a second wave of the disease."
For people wondering if they have the virus Rupp says fever and cough are the two biggest indicators of COVID-19. He says anyone with those symptoms needs to stay home for at least ten days. "Hopefully the last five days are without fever and symptoms."
Rupp says a clinical trial is underway at UNMC on a drug that he's hoping can provide treatment for patients.