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The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services added data on Tuesdays about COVID-19 cases and deaths by race and ethnicity to the online data dashboard. Nebraska was nearly the last state in the U.S. to publish that data.
At the end of May, state health officials gave a snapshot of available race and ethnicity data, but said that information couldn’t be made available online until the end of June.
The updated data published Tuesday shows the virus is still impacting minority populations at much higher rates than white Nebraskans.
Non-white Nebraskans make up only 22% of the state’s population, but account for nearly 70% of COVID-19 cases, 58% of hospitalizations, and 37% of deaths.
The greatest disparities are for Latino and Hispanic residents, who are about 11% of the state’s population, but about 46% of cases and 21% of deaths, excluding "unknown" cases. About 3,100 cases are listed as “unknown” race or ethnicity.
North Dakota is now the only state not publishing COVID-19 cases or deaths by race and ethnicity, according to a review by Johns Hopkins University.
COVID-19 Cases in Nebraska
Calculated using DHHS data and U.S. Census Bureau Population Statistics
COVID-19 Hospitalizations in Nebraska
Calculated using DHHS data and U.S. Census Bureau Population Statistics
COVID-19 Deaths in Nebraska
Calculated using DHHS data and U.S. Census Bureau Population Statistics