As of last Friday afternoon, about 18% of COVID-19 cases in Douglas County were African Americans, and about 9.5% were Hispanic, said Douglas County Public Health Director Adi Pour.

As of Friday, about half the hospital beds in the city were free because elective surgeries have been canceled, Pour said. About 100 of the metro area’s 448 ventilators were in use, with 11 in use for COVID-19 patients.

“We have plenty of ventilators in this community,” Pour said.

Youth and adult sports have been suspended until May 31, following the closure of the state’s schools.

This past week saw a positive rate for COVID-19 tests of 7.9% – which Pour described as “pretty good” because it’s under 10%

The county expects to see a peak in cases toward the end of April.

“The next three weeks are extremely important,” Pour said. “I just urge our entire community to take it seriously.”

In particular, those considered at high risk should be cautious.

“If you take a pill every day, you are at high risk,” Pour said.

– Scott Stewart