Cedar County sees an increase in COVID-19 cases

WAYNE — Until recently, Cedar County had been fairly isolated from the coronavirus pandemic.

The number of positive coronavirus cases in Cedar County has doubled over the past three weeks, though.

Four new cases were reported in the county on Monday, bringing the total here to 17.

While the Northeast Nebraska Public Health Department will not pinpoint exactly where the COVID-19 victims live in the county, sources say many of the new victims are Cedar County residents who work in South Dakota.

The Northeast Nebraska Public Health Department reported a total of nine new cases in its four-county district on Monday, bringing the number of cases in the district up to 265.

The Nebraska Dept. of Health and Human Services reported that as of Monday the state had 19,243 cases with 267 deaths.

In the last 14 days, Douglas County has seen the most new cases, as 1,254 cases have been reported there.

The number of U.S. cases climbed to 2,545,250 on Monday with 126,389 COVID-19 related deaths.

Despite the local increase, the virus seems to be slowing in most of the rest of the state. New directed health measures easing restrictions on businesses and activities will take effect Monday, July 6, for Dakota, Hall, Hamilton and Merrick counties. These four counties are moving from Phase 2 to Phase 3 of reopening, which will put all of Nebraska’s counties in Phase 3. This allows for bars and restaurants to be open and allows for increased capacity in these facilities.

Plans for further reopening of the state are also being discussed by DHHS officials, but no timeframe has been put in place as of yet.