OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — On Thursday the Douglas County Health Department confirmed 249 new positive cases reported since midnight on Wednesday. There were two more deaths reported. Both of the patients who passes away were women in their 80s. One was vaccinated and the other was not.
Other data from the department:
- The county says that hospital capacity is at 88% with 170 beds available.
- Adult ICU beds were occupied at a rate of 89% with 33 beds available.
- 195 individuals with COVID-19 are currently hospitalized, with 55 people receiving adult ICU-level care.
- Ten pediatric patients are among the hospitalized.
- Twenty-seven individuals who were confirmed or suspected of having COVID-19 were on ventilators.
- There were four additional COVID-19 persons of interest (generally waiting for test results), with all of them adults.
In addition, the department released the following:
The 1918 influenza pandemic, caused by an H1N1 flu virus, has often been referred to as the most severe pandemic in recent history. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it is estimated that about one-third of the world’s population, or 500 million people at the time, were infected with the flu virus.
More recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) Coronavirus Dashboard recently reported 225 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, the current pandemic, and one that is not yet over.
While the full extent of the COVID-19 pandemic is yet to be measured, the Douglas County Health Department (DCHD) thinks it is important to provide some added perspective on the current situation. Today the CDC confirmed there have been 662,620 deaths related to COVID-19 in the United States since the start of this pandemic. The total U.S. deaths for the 1918 pandemic, which lasted into 1919, was around 675,000, according to the CDC.
"We have to do better as a state and a nation," Health Director Dr. Lindsay Huse said. "We have the tools to get us back to normal, and we need to ramp up their use."
Clinics happening this week:
Download our apps today for all of our latest coverage.
Get the latest news and weather delivered straight to your inbox.