Douglas County Sees Positivity Rate Drop After Mandate

Douglas County saw its rate of positive COVID-19 tests drop from 10.5% the week ending Aug. 15, when Omaha City Council passed a mask mandate, to 7.4% the week ending last Saturday, the Douglas County Health Department said.

Last week, Douglas County reported 529 positive cases out of a total of 7,153 tests performed, according to a news release.

“This is tremendous progress for the entire community,” Health Director Adi Pour said. “That drop is a credit to everyone involved.”

The number of COVID-19-related deaths in the county remains at 178 as of Sunday. DCHD confirmed 10,809 county residents have recovered from the illness.

Nebraska had had 434 deaths as of Monday, with 38,335 total positive cases. The state had 714 ventilators available out of 859, along with 211 intensive care unit beds out of 611 statewide.