Kearney, Neb. — Two Rivers Public Health updated the weekly risk dial on Thursday, November 12. The level of risk has
elevated farther into the red “Pandemic” level. Many factors go into determining the level of risk each week.
The following factors
contributed to this week’s determination:
• Testing availability has expanded over the past week due to the addition of test appointments available to the public in
Gothenburg and Kearney at TestNebraska sites. Testing turnaround time has increased, but not significantly.
• Reports of the shortage of testing supplies, and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) continue to hamper testing efforts at
private hospitals, clinics and labs.
• Individuals hospitalized due to COVID-19 ranged from 55 individuals hospitalized on November 4th, to 60 individuals
hospitalized on November 5
th and 6th. ICU availability has dropped, and ventilator usage has increased, although prolonged
hospitalizations are not seen currently.
• Two-fifths of all hospital beds in the district are occupied by COVID positive patients
• Multiple smaller outbreaks seem to be either ongoing or imminent across Buffalo, and Dawson counties. These outbreaks are
both community-based and long-term care facility-based.
• The weekly positivity rates of tests are now consistently above the statewide average (see weekly report for details). Rates
among seniors aged over 60 are showing a significant increase. Although tests conducted per week have increased to about
2000, positivity rates continue to remain extremely high. Over 2/5ths of all tests in the past week returned positive.
• For these reasons, the risk dial continues to be elevated at ‘pandemic’ level.
To conclude, there is widespread transmission of COVID-19 in the Two Rivers Health District, and positivity rates seem to be
rising rapidly across all seven counties in the district. Residents are advised to exercise utmost caution and adhere to strict
preventive measures (social distancing, correct and consistent masking) at all times to protect themselves.
The full weekly report can now be found online at https://www.trphd.org/covid-19/.
