COVID-19 update: 12th corrections staffer tests positive; 1 death in Pott. County – WOWT

(WOWT) — Here is a summary of new cases and other COVID-19 stats reported Tuesday by health officials across Nebraska & Iowa.

Tuesday’s updated case totals for Nebraska and Iowa

As of 6 p.m. Tuesday, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services says Nebraska has a total of 12,619 cases. That is up 264 from Monday’s report. They have also reported 153 deaths, 3 more than Monday’s report of 150.

According to the department hospital bed availability is at 44 percent, ICU bed availability is at 43 percent, and ventilator availability is at 77 percent.

In Iowa, according to the state, their case number has reached 17,703. That’s 125 new cases from Monday. Iowa deaths are also up with 19 new reported Tuesday. The total number of deaths is 478.

Douglas County Youth Center employee tests positive

An employee of the Douglas County Youth Center has tested positive for COVID-19, officials reported Tuesday.

In a statement, county officials said the employee’s temperature check prior to their overnight shift May 17 was normal but they said they were not feeling well the following day and called in sick.

The employee did not have contact with any youth at the center. All employees who had close contact with the person are self-isolating at home, officials reported.

Families of all youth at the center at the time have been contacted.

The youth center began screening all employees for coronavirus symptoms including temperature checks May 17. The center employs 142. As of Tuesday there are 77 children at the youth center.

Lincoln reports 9th death

The Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department announced Tuesday a ninth resided has died of COVID-19 in Lincoln and seven more cases are confirmed in the community, bringing the area’s total to 1,097.

State penitentiary staffer tests positive

Nebraska Department of Correctional Services said in a release Tuesday that a 12th staff member has tested positive for COVID-19.

The staff member, who works at the Nebraska State Penitentiary in Lincoln, is self-isolating at home, the release states.

To date, 12 NDCS staff members have tested positive, according to the release.

16 new cases, 1 death in Pott. County

The Pottawattamie County Public Health has reported 16 new cases and one additional death. This is the 7th death in the county.

The death was an elderly male from Council Bluffs with pre-existing medical conditions.

Of the 16 new cases, 10 of them are from Council Bluffs, three are from Underwood, two are from Carter Lake, and one is from Walnut. Three of the cases are minors, and the other 13 are between 18-80 years old.

Pottawattamie County now has a total of 243 cases.

Along with these cases, the county reports 11 recoveries.

Douglas County reports 291 cases

The Douglas County Health Department has reported that the COVID-19 case total for the county is at 3,355. Saturday’s total was 3,064. Over the holiday weekend, that increases the total by 291 cases.

The positivity rate for the past week is 11.8 percent.

As of Monday night, 431 medical and surgical beds were reported open, 141 patients were hospitalized with COVID-19, and the intensive care capacity is at 72 percent.

Forty-six ventilators are being used for COVID-19 patients. There are 382 total ventilators with 144 in use.

Iowa testing nearly at capacity

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said during her daily news conference that the state is approaching its daily testing capacity.

Reynolds said that more than 28,000 Iowans were tested last week, 6,146 of the tests were done at Test Iowa locations after criteria was opened so anyone who wanted to be tested could do so.

Test Iowa saw its highest day Friday with 2,114 individuals tested. On Sunday, 4,907 tests were processed — only 93 away from the state’s full capacity for processing.

As more tests are being done, the positivity rate is trending downwards, Reynolds added.

In late April, the average positivity rate among Iowans tested was about 30%. As of Tuesday, the average positivity rate has dropped to 13.1%. The rate recorded Monday was 6.3%.

A total of 9,403 Iowans who have tested positive for COVID-19 have recovered from the illness. The recovery rate is now 53%, Reynolds said.

The recovery rate among longterm care residents and staff is 42%.

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Live Care Center update

The Life Care Center in Elkhorn provided an update Tuesday afternoon reporting an additional death due to COVID-19. They now have had a total of 9 deaths.

Seven more employees of Life Care Center in Elkhorn have returned to work after testing positive for COVID-19, according to a Tuesday news release from the nursing home.

The update reports that 12 of 30 staff who previously tested positive are back to work at the center.

3rd Douglas County Corrections officer tests positive

The Douglas County Department of Corrections reported Tuesday a third corrections officer has tested positive for COVID-19 and is currently hospitalized.

DCDC Director Mike Myers said in a statement released Tuesday there is no evidence the three cases are related to one another. DCDC has about 500 employees and oversees about 1,200 incarcerated individuals.

Three Rivers confirms 451 cases total

The Three Rivers Public Health Department has released the total number of COVID-19 cases in the district is 451.

According to the release, Dodge County is at 392 cases, Saunders County has 31 cases, and Washington County has 28 cases.