LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – A Madison County resident has died of COVIS-19, raising Nebraska’s death toll to five, the state said.
The woman was in her 70s and had underlying health conditions, the Nebraska Health and Human Services Department said Wednesday night in a news release. The state’s total number of confirmed cases rose to 214, the department said. Nearly 3,600 people have tested negative.
For most people, COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. Older adults and people with existing health problems are among those particularly susceptible to more severe illness, including pneumonia.
Earlier Wednesday, Gov. Pete Ricketts warned Nebraskans that they must help keep COVID-19 from spreading, but he reiterated that he won’t impose a stay-at-home order as many other states have done.
It appears social distancing rules are preventing even larger case increases, Ricketts said, but “we have to do more” to avoid overloading the state’s hospitals.
Statewide, officials have urged residents not to have any social gathering larger than 10 people, but that request isn’t legally enforceable.
However, Ricketts has ordered more restrictive “directed health measures” to dozens of Nebraska’s 93 counties, including 15 more he added Wednesday. The directed health measures impose the same 10-person limit, but people who refuse to comply can be charged with misdemeanors. The orders also require restaurants and bars in those areas to close their dining areas, but they can still offer takeout and delivery.
___
Follow AP coverage of the virus outbreak at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
