Bellevue – Sarpy County reported its first case of COVID-19 community spread last Friday, the third such case in the metro area.

“It is vital that we, as a community, continue to work together to flatten the curve and reduce the spread of illness to make it manageable for our health care systems locally,” said Sarah Schram, director of the Sarpy/Cass Health Department. “We are all working together, collectively, to flatten the curve and to move through this to get to the other side to bigger and better things.”

Officials from Sarpy and Cass counties held a joint news conference at Bellevue City Hall, where journalists were sequestered in a different room to follow social distancing best practices. City leaders said that they are working cooperatively on a response.

“We’ve got mutual aid agreements between jurisdictions – it doesn’t limit just to Sarpy, either. Douglas, Sarpy, we’re all working together on this, all the way up to the state and the national government,” Bellevue Mayor Rusty Hike said.

Papillion Mayor David Black encouraged area residents to support the small businesses in their communities.

“Think of your local mom and pop businesses. They are impacted,” Black said. “I have talked to a number of businesses that want to continue to do the right thing and pay their employees. They can only do that if they have hope and people don’t panic.”

Black said every buying decision is a chance to help a local business, instead of a national or international online retailer.

“That is the biggest thing to provide hope to our business community,” Black said.