Nebraska governor extends order restricting gatherings to 10
A nurse in protective gear tests for the COVID-19 and coronavirus virus at a drive-through test location at Bryant Health's LifePointe campus in Lincoln, Neb., Tuesday, March 24, 2020. Testing was by appointment only. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts speaks at a press briefing in Lincoln, Neb., Wednesday, March 25, 2020. Nebraska approved an $83.6 million emergency relief package Wednesday to help public health officials respond to new coronavirus as the number of cases continued to rise and Gov. Pete Ricketts expanded the list of counties where restaurants and bars will be forced to close their dining areas. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Four more Nebraska counties are now covered by an enforceable order limiting public gatherings to 10 people as the number of COVID-19 cases in the state topped 100.
Gov. Pete Ricketts' order was extended to Burt, Cuming, Madison and Stanton counties on Sunday after a community spread case where health officials can't trace the source of the infection was confirmed in Madison County. A day earlier, a similar order was imposed on Butler, Hall, Hamilton, Merrick, Polk, Seward, and York counties effectively shutting down the dining rooms of restaurants and bars and closing churches, theaters, schools and gyms in those areas. Funerals and weddings are also limited to no more than 10 people.
The area covered under the new orders includes more than 150,000 people.
Ricketts earlier this month issued the order for Douglas, Sarpy, Cass and Washington counties, then Lancaster, Dodge and Saunders counties. Combined, all of those counties account for well over half of the state's population.
State health officials said Sunday that Nebraska has at least 109 cases of COVID-19, up from 99 on Saturday. The first two deaths linked to the disease in the state were reported Friday in Douglas and Hall counties.
The Douglas County Health Department said Sunday that nine new cases of the virus were confirmed in the county, including two long-term care residents of the Douglas County Health Center. The residents remain in isolation in their rooms at the care facility. These latest cases involve a man and a woman in their 20s, a woman in her 50s, two women and a man in their 60s, two women in their 70s, and a woman in her 80s. One person is hospitalized.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.
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