SWNPHD works on back-to-school plans with their districts

Southwest Nebraska Public Health Department (SWNPHD) has partnered with the school districts in the nine-county health district to develop plans for preventing the spread of COVID-19 in the schools.  SWNPHD says plans are in place to quickly identify and isolate symptomatic students or staff, and then identify others who were in direct contact with them.  Each school has a plan in place for minimizing the impact of COVID-19 and keeping schools open safely.

SWNPHD asks parents and guardians to notify their child’s school immediately if they or someone in their household tests positive for COVID-19.   It will be especially important this year for families and schools to be in communication with each other. Part of minimizing spread in the schools will be knowing what symptoms children have when they are called in sick, and how many children are calling in sick each week.  Nebraska requires all schools to report how many students are absent each week and why, known as school illness surveillance.  When you call the school, it is extremely helpful if you can list your child’s symptoms and how long they have had them.

In the past seven days SWNPHD has been notified of 21 people from the health district that have tested positive for COVID-19.

New cases include the following:

These cases bring the total to 112 confirmed COVID-19 cases.  Many of these cases are related to two ongoing outbreaks in Keith County.  Seventy-three of the total cases have recovered, and there have been a total of 8 deaths. Four of the 21 are believed to be community spread, while three are still under investigation.