Officials report high COVID numbers, urge caution over holidays

McCOOK, Neb. — The Southwest Nebraska Public Health Department is reporting the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases of the year and the third-highest month since the beginning of the pandemic, with only November and December 2020 reporting more.

The district has recorded 6,104 COVID cases so far, and four additional deaths for a total of 82.

WNPHD had 101 new cases of COVID-19 reported from Dec. 7 to Dec. 13, 2021, with an average of 157 cases per week in the last 30 days. A breakdown by age includes: 0 to 19 – 9; 20 to 29 – 13; 30 to 39 – 9; 40 to 49 – 10; 50 to 59 – 18; 60 to 69 – 17; 70 to 79 – 15; 80 and over – 10.

“Many hospitals across the state are reporting few or zero beds available,” said Health Director Myra Stoney.

“This is a time to do whatever possible to avoid needing to be hospitalized, for any reason. We encourage everyone to make informed decisions for your own health and the health of those around you,” she said.

“During the holidays this means celebrating safely with loved ones and having many more years to celebrate in the future.”

Leading up to your holidays, preparing and weighing the risk of places you plan to attend will help ensure everyone stays safe and healthy. Here are some things to consider as you plan:

Avoid large

public gatherings

Consider the risk of any activity you plan to attend. Large indoor gatherings, busy shopping malls, crowded airports or poorly ventilated spaces that last longer than 15 minutes pose more risk of spreading COVID-19. Staying outdoors, interacting with less people and social distancing will reduce the risk that you are unknowingly bringing sickness with you to your holiday celebration.

Wear a mask when you are in public

Masks trap respiratory droplets that are released when the wearer talks, coughs or sneezes. They also act as a barrier to protect the wearer from inhaling droplets released by others. Even if you are vaccinated, wearing a mask indoors in public and outdoors in crowded areas or when you are in close contact with unvaccinated people will help prevent you from becoming infected.

Get tested immediately before and

after traveling

Get tested with a viral test 1-3 days before your trip to ensure you don’t have COVID-19, even if you don’t have any symptoms. Once you return home or if you are experiencing any flu-like symptoms after traveling, no matter where you have gone, self-isolate until symptoms go away and get tested for COVID-19 right away.

If you are sick or have symptoms - cancel

Be honest and don’t force yourself to push through if you don’t feel well. A fever, cough or other symptoms, might mean you have COVID-19 or you might have flu or some other illness. While most people have mild illness and it may not seem too bad, there is a chance that it might be much more serious for certain family members. Canceling is better than infecting those you love with COVID-19 or influenza.

Get vaccinated

Many generations tend to gather to celebrate holidays and the best way to protect those not yet eligible for vaccination, such as young children, and those who are at risk of getting severely sick, is to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and influenza. Currently vaccination is the best protection from being hospitalized with COVID-19.

Consider your

travel plans

If you or family members are not vaccinated, reconsider travel at all. Most forms of travel can make it easier for infection to spread. Busy airports with layovers, bus stations, buses, train stations, trains, public transport, gas stations, and restaurants where you take your mask off to eat, are all places where physical distancing may be challenging, and ventilation may be poor. If the destination includes gathering with family or friends at someone’s house, infection can spread there as well.

SWNPHD is located at 404 West 10th St (1 block north of Arby’s) in McCook and can be reached by calling 308-345-4223. The website www.swhealth.ne.gov contains many resources and additional information helpful to prevent disease, promote and protect health.

You can also follow SWNPHD on social media. SWNPHD serves Chase, Dundy, Frontier, Furnas, Hayes, Hitchcock, Keith, Perkins, and Red Willow counties.