District COVID cases remain under 75

    For the second week in a row, new COVID-19 cases reported in the Southwest Nebraska Public Health Department district remained under 75.
    Cases in the district  showed a slight uptick to 74 for the week of Feb. 2-8, compared to the 71 the week before.
    That’s still significantly less than the 139 cases reported three weeks ago in the district.
    There were eight new cases reported in Chase County this week compared to five last week.
    The breakdown for other counties in the district Feb. 2-8 are as follows: Dundy-12; Frontier-1; Furnas-10; Hayes-0; Hitchcock-9; Keith-4; Perkins-1;  and Red Willow-29.
    This brings the total number of cases for the health district to 3,631. Three additional deaths were attributed to COVID-19.
Manor moves back to yellow
    Eric Haider, CEO at Imperial Manor and Parkview Heights, said they had a Manor staff member test positive so the Manor moved from green to yellow, which is more restrictive.
    Staff on the Manor side have to wear full PPE.
     “We have had some residents in the yellow zone and all other residents continue to come out for activities, church services and eat in the dining room,” he said.
    He said the Manor will change back to green on Feb. 13 unless another staff member or resident tests positive. Presently, there are no COVID-positive Manor residents.
    Parkview Heights remains in the green zone.
    Haider said eligible Manor and Parkview residents received their second dose of vaccine Feb. 4.
    Any of the residents who had both doses and wanted to go were able to take a van ride around town, Haider added.
1,500 vaccine doses given
    Myra Stoney, SWNPHD director, said Monday they were able to administer another 1,500 first doses of vaccine to essential workers and high-risk individuals during the first week of February.
    A total of 3,099 first doses have been administered throughout the district. That represents 8.1% of the district population.
    SWNPHD is continuing to schedule appointments as soon as the vaccine is received each week. Shots are not available on a walk-in basis.
    Registrations to make appointments are taken from the SWNPHD waiting list located at www.swhealth.ne.gov/fea tured/1.