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A University of Nebraska Medical Center expert says he doesn’t expect the COVID-19 pandemic to peak in Nebraska for at least another week or two. Nebraska is still seeing high numbers of new cases each day.
Dr. Ali Khan is a professor in the department of epidemiology at UNMC. He explained what to look for as social distancing restrictions start to relax in parts of the state.
"The most important thing you look at is the cases in the community, right," Khan said. "So when we start seeing increased transmission in the community, which will be reflected in increased people becoming sick and reporting to the emergency room. So everybody’s eyes are going to be on are we seeing increased cases in the community."
Khan said testing is increasing in Nebraska and more contract tracers are being trained. He emphasized the need to stay diligent about diagnosing and tracing new COVID-19 cases to prevent a new wave.
A model developed by UNMC predicts more than 18,000 cases and 311 deaths in Nebraska by mid-July if the state hits its peak on May 11.
A model from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation predicts 463 deaths by August 4.
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