COVID-19

Nebraska Sets Up Lab, Expects to Add COVID-19 Testing Sites

Published by Scott Stewart on Fri, 05/08/2020 - 1:00am

Lincoln – Nebraska has opened a new lab to analyze the results of about 3,000 coronavirus tests per day and will launch more testing sites beyond those operating in Omaha and hard-hit Grand Island, officials said last Tuesday.

Read more about Nebraska Sets Up Lab, Expects to Add COVID-19 Testing Sites

N.H. Courts Requiring Masks

Published by Scott Stewart on Wed, 05/06/2020 - 9:28pm

Concord, N.H. – An order by New Hampshire’s Supreme Court requires people to wear a face covering when they enter a court because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“This rule applies to all who work in the Judicial Branch as well as litigants, lawyers, members of the media, and members of the public,” according to the order.

Read more about N.H. Courts Requiring Masks

Nearly 1,400 Tyson Workers at Three Iowa Plants Test Positive

Published by Scott Stewart on Wed, 05/06/2020 - 9:27pm

Iowa City, Iowa – Nearly 1,400 workers at three Tyson Foods pork processing plants in Iowa have tested positive for the coronavirus, the state reported Tuesday, as deaths surged to a new daily high and a testing backlog persisted.

Read more about Nearly 1,400 Tyson Workers at Three Iowa Plants Test Positive

Pence to Visit Iowa to Discuss Reopening Religious Services

Published by Scott Stewart on Wed, 05/06/2020 - 9:27pm

Des Moines, Iowa – Vice President Mike Pence plans to travel to Iowa today to meet with faith leaders to discuss reopening religious services to the public.

The visit comes a week after Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds said she would lift restrictions on religious gatherings as long as they observe social distancing guidelines and increase sanitation efforts, the Des Moines Register reported.

Read more about Pence to Visit Iowa to Discuss Reopening Religious Services

Fifth Nebraska Prisons Staffer Tests Positive for Coronavirus

Published by Scott Stewart on Wed, 05/06/2020 - 9:26pm

Lincoln – A staffer at Lincoln’s Nebraska State Penitentiary has tested positive for the new coronavirus, state prisons officials said.

The Nebraska Department of Correctional Services announced the newest case last Tuesday in a news release, marking the system’s fifth confirmed case of the virus.

Read more about Fifth Nebraska Prisons Staffer Tests Positive for Coronavirus

DCHD Seeks Support for ‘Masks for the Many’

Published by Scott Stewart on Wed, 05/06/2020 - 9:25pm

Everyone should be wearing a mask in public as we battle COVID-19, but not everyone has one, can afford one or knows how to make one. Masks are important because, “My mask protects you, your mask protects me.”

With that in mind, the Douglas County Health Department has partnered with the Eastern Nebraska/Western Iowa Medical Reserve Corps to launch “Masks for the Many.”

Read more about DCHD Seeks Support for ‘Masks for the Many’

Nebraska Struggles to Process Flood of Jobless Claims

Published by Scott Stewart on Wed, 05/06/2020 - 5:00am

Lincoln – Nebraska officials are struggling to keep up with the flood of unemployment claims that have been filed since the coronavirus pandemic began.

Nebraska Labor Commissioner John Albin said the state has been adding workers and streamlining its processes, but there have still been unacceptable delays that left workers waiting for their checks.

Read more about Nebraska Struggles to Process Flood of Jobless Claims

Nursing Homes Across Country Seek Shield From Lawsuits

Published by Scott Stewart on Wed, 05/06/2020 - 4:00am

New York – Faced with 20,000 coronavirus deaths and counting, the nation’s nursing homes are pushing back against a potential flood of lawsuits with a sweeping lobbying effort to get states to grant them emergency protection from claims of inadequate care.

Read more about Nursing Homes Across Country Seek Shield From Lawsuits

Virus Cases Lead Two Nebraska Meat Processing Plants to Close

Published by Scott Stewart on Tue, 05/05/2020 - 2:56pm

A Tyson Foods pork plant in Madison and a Cargill beef plant in Schuyler announced last Monday that they would temporarily shut down production to deep clean the plants, the Omaha World-Herald reported. The closures follow the news last week of Tyson’s beef processing plant in Dakota City that sidelined some 4,300 workers.

Read more about Virus Cases Lead Two Nebraska Meat Processing Plants to Close

Judge Denies Request for State Prison Virus Plan

Published by Scott Stewart on Tue, 05/05/2020 - 2:35pm

Lincoln – A federal judge has denied the American Civil Liberties Union’s request that Nebraska prison officials disclose plans for preventing and managing the coronavirus in the state’s prisons.