Local coronavirus cases have dropped from the winter surge in Lancaster County but have leveled off recently, prompting Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department Director Pat Lopez to keep the COVID-19 risk dial in the mid-yellow zone for a seventh straight week.
"We’re just treading water right now," Lopez said Tuesday at the weekly news conference on the local coronavirus response.
Lopez expressed concern with new cases among middle-aged adults and among children as carrying the potential to spread coronavirus to some unvaccinated older adults should restrictions ease early.
On Tuesday, the three Republican candidates for Lincoln City Council — Roy Christensen, Mary Hilton and Eric Burling — called on the Health Department to ease youth sports restrictions on attendance, particularly for outdoor sports.
The current directed health measure limits spectators to four per participant, caps spectator groups at eight and requires 6 feet of social distancing, though larger events can be allowed with Health Department approval.
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"The Health Department should modify all restrictions on outdoor youth sport participation and spectators at events so all youth are able to play sports uninhibited and spectators are permitted at events with minimum social distancing and mask recommendations," the candidates said in a joint statement. "These modifications are in the best interest of the health and well-being of our children and our community."
Asked about their request Tuesday, Lopez said she would be open to easing those restrictions only when case numbers in the community again begin to decrease.
Lancaster County reported 62 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday and one new death, according to the Health Department.
The man was in his 60s and had recently been hospitalized, and his death marks the 227th recorded in Lancaster County since the pandemic began, a department news release said.
So far, more than 59,000 people in Lancaster County have completed vaccinations after the Health Department administered 7,800 second doses at a clinic Monday, Lopez said.
The Lancaster Event Center will host its first vaccination clinic, second doses for people 65 and over and educators, on Thursday, and the county plans to hold extended 12-hour first-dose clinics vaccinating residents 55 and older at Pinnacle Bank Arena next week, Lopez said. Mount Zion Baptist Church will also host a COVID-19 vaccine clinic as part of a Health Department effort.
The Health Department plans to administer newly received Johnson & Johnson doses to the approximately 1,200 homebound residents in the county and then begin inoculating homeless shelter residents, rehabilitation center residents and Lancaster County jail inmates, she said.
She defended the Health Department's progress in distributing vaccines, saying she urges Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services officials daily to increase the allotment to larger counties as vaccines sit unused in less-populated counties where vaccination interest has not been as high.
"We have people knocking on the door to get vaccinated here," Lopez said.
The state's expansion making anyone 18 and older eligible for a COVID-19 shot at select retail pharmacies should accelerate the Health Department's effort, but the county receives only 12,000 doses per week between its allotment and the participating pharmacies, she said.
On Tuesday, the Department of Health and Human Services reported that 21.6% of the state's residents age 16 and over are fully vaccinated. In Lancaster County, it's 21.4%.
Until a larger share of residents get vaccinated, the community needs to remain vigilant in practicing social distancing measures, Lopez added.
"Your commitment is the key to our progress," she said.
IMAGES OF LINCOLN DURING THE PANDEMIC