Douglas County reports that last week’s positivity rate dropped to 7.4%. That’s a 3% decrease since the Omaha City Council passed the city’s mask mandate August 15.
Phil Rooney is the Douglas County Health Department Spokesman. He said social distancing, practicing good hand washing, and people staying at home while sick contributed to the downward trend in cases.
"We have seen this change since the mask mandate went into effect, and that may not be solely responsible, but we do believe, and there's been evidence around other parts of the country that wearing masks in public does reduce the spread of COVID-19," Rooney said. "So we have seen a significant drop in the percentage of positive cases in that time, and we feel that’s certainly one of the contributing factors."
Rooney said only two people have been cited for directed health measure violations. As of today, Monday, Douglas County reported 71 new cases of COVID-19.