The Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department has raised the COVID Threat Meter from Low/Green to the lowest level of Yellow/Moderate.
Health Director Pat Lopez said in a news conference Tuesday afternoon that the number of COVID cases, mainly the Omicron variant, has gone up every week for the past 5 weeks. She also said the current positivity rate in the county is at 10.2 per cent.
Hospitalizations have held steady, with around 15 to 20 patients per week, none in critical condition.
Lopez said the biggest weapon against the virus remains immunizations and boosters.
"The boosters remain critical in helping protect people from severe illness, hospitalizations, and death from COVID," she said. "Second booster doses were recently approved for those age 50 and older, and those age 12 and over with weakened immune systems. We're seeing increased cases in older adults who haven't received their second booster."
The current rate of people fully vaccinated in the county is 57 per cent, with 60 per cent of those people having also received boosters. Lopez says that, for now, there are no plans to have any new directed health orders. For more information on COVID statistics in Lancaster County you can go to covid19.lincoln.ne.gov.