| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 26, 2020 CONTACT Leah Bucco-White, Communications and Legislative Services, 402-471-9356 leah.bucco-white@nebraska.gov DHHS Asking Nebraskans With Travel in Past 14 Days to Countries With Community Transmission of COVID-19 to Contact Local Health Department Lincoln – The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and its public health partners continue to closely track the unfolding outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and anticipate its impact on Nebraska and its health care systems. The virus originated in China and has spread to multiple other countries including the United States. So far, there have been no cases identified in Nebraska residents. “Ensuring the health of Nebraskans is our main priority and public health officials continue to actively monitor self-isolated Nebraska residents who recently returned from China,” said Dr. Tom Safranek, State Epidemiologist for DHHS. “Based on the spread of COVID-19 and an increase in cases in other countries, DHHS is now including Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Iran, Italy, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, along with China. We’re asking people with travel to these countries in the last 14 days to either self-report to the Nebraska public health online system at http://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/Coronavirus.aspx or contact their local health department for guidance and next steps. Informing the local health department of recent travel history is the most direct way to ensure timely medical care if needed and to minimize the potential risk to others.” A map of Nebraska’s local health departments can be found here http://dhhs.ne.gov/CHPM%20Maps/NE_Health_Dept_Map_Dec_2016.pdf . A list of local health departments along with contact information is provided below. It is important to remember that people who may become ill upon returning from overseas travel are more likely to have other respiratory illnesses typically seen this time of year like flu, which might also require treatment. However, it is very possible that we could see travel-related COVID-19 cases in Nebraska residents. State and local public health officials continue to take action to prevent the spread of disease and protect the health of Nebraskans including: Sharing the latest guidance and information with local health departments, hospitals, health care providers, first responders and local and state labs through our extensive Health Alert Network to ensure a well-coordinated response in Nebraska. DHHS Health Alert Network – http://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/Health-Alert-Network.aspx Assessing our health care system’s readiness to identify, monitor and treat patients with coronavirus disease 2019. Engaging in active and ongoing communication with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other state and federal partners as part of the overall national response to this emerging public health threat. Reviewing and enhancing response plans to be ready for the detection of COVID-19 in our state. Facilitating confirmatory testing, isolation and monitoring of Nebraskans experiencing symptoms to identify cases as soon as possible. Updating dhhs.ne.gov/coronavirus with the latest information and resources. With our local health department partners, we have a system in place to track and monitor people who have contact with a confirmed case in an effort to immediately detect secondary cases and minimize the potential for ongoing, undetected, person-to-person transmission. Nebraskans are also encouraged to review their family preparedness plans in the event that coronavirus disease 2019 continues to spread in the United States. More resources will be available soon at http://www.dhhs.ne.gov/coronavirus. People can help protect themselves from COVID-19 and other respiratory infections by: Washing hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water aren’t available, use an alcohol-based sanitizer. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands. Avoid close contact with sick people and stay home if you are sick. Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze then throw the tissue in the trash. Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces. To learn more about COVID-19, go to http://www.dhhs.ne.gov/coronavirus or https://www.cdc.gov/covid19. Contact information for Nebraska’s local health departments COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENTS Clay County Health Department 202 West Fairfield Clay Center Phone: (402) 762-3571 Website: www.claycounty.ne.gov (Clay County/Clay Center) Dakota County Health Department 1601 Broadway Street/Box 155 Dakota City Phone: (402) 987-2164 Website: www.dakotacountyne.org (Dakota County/Dakota City) Douglas County Health Department Communicable Disease Epidemiology Section 1111 South 41st Street Omaha Phone: (402) 444-7214 Website: www.douglascountyhealth.com (Douglas County/Omaha) Polk County Health Department 330 North State Street/Box 316 Osceola Phone: (402) 747-2211 Website: https://polkcounty.nebraska.gov/county–offices/health–department (Polk County/Osceola) Red Willow County Health Department 1400 West 5th McCook Phone: (308) 345-1790 Website: http://redwillowhealth.com (Red Willow County/McCook) Scotts Bluff County Health Department 1825 10th Street Gering Phone: (308) 436-6636 Website: www.scottsbluffcounty.org/health–department/health–department.html (Scotts Bluff County/Gering) CITY-COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department 3131 “O” Street Lincoln Phone: (402) 441-8000 Website: www.lincoln.ne.gov/city/health (Lancaster County/Lincoln) DISTRICT HEALTH DEPARTMENTS Central District Health Department 1137 South Locust Street Grand Island Phone: (308) 385-5175 x178; Toll Free: (877) 216-9092 Website: www.cdhd.ne.gov (Hall County/Grand Island, Hamilton County/Aurora, Merrick County/Central City) East Central District Health Department 4321 41st Avenue Columbus Phone: (402) 562-8950 Email: bwewel@ecdhd.ne.gov Website: http://ecdhd.ne.gov (Boone County/Albion, Colfax County/Schuyler, Nance County/Fullerton, Platte County/Columbus) Elkhorn Logan Valley Public Health Department Box 779 Wisner Phone: (402) 529-2233; Toll-Free: (877) 379-4400 Website: www.elvphd.org (Burt County/Tekamah, Cuming County/West Point, Madison County/Madison, Stanton County/Stanton) Four Corners Health Department 2101 North Lincoln Avenue York Phone: (402) 362-2621; Toll-Free: (877) 337-3573 Website: www.fourcorners.ne.gov (Butler County/David City, Polk County/Osceola, Seward County/Seward, York County/York) Loup Basin Public Health Department 934 “I” Street/Box 995 Burwell Phone: (308) 346-5795; Toll-Free: (866) 522-5795 Website: www.loupbasinhealth.com (Blaine County/Brewster, Custer County/Broken Bow, Garfield County/Burwell, Greeley County/Greeley, Howard County/St Paul, Loup County/Taylor, Sherman County/Loup City, Valley County/Ord, Wheeler County/Bartlett) North Central District Health Department 422 East Douglas Street O’Neill Phone: (402) 336-2406; Toll Free: (877) 336-2406 Website: www.ncdhd.ne.gov (Antelope County/Neligh, Boyd County/Butte, Brown County/Ainsworth, Cherry County/Valentine, Holt County/O’Neill, Keya Paha County/Springview, Knox County/Center, Pierce County/Pierce, Rock County/Bassett) Northeast Nebraska Public Health Department 215 North Pearl Street Wayne Phone: (402) 375-2200; 24/7 Phone: (402) 369-3822 Website: www.nnphd.org (Cedar County/Hartington, Dixon County/Ponca, Thurston County/Pender, Wayne County/Wayne) Panhandle Public Health District 808 Box Butte Avenue Hemingford Phone: (308) 487-3600 Website: www.pphd.org (Banner County/Harrisburg, Box Butte County/Alliance, Cheyenne County/Sidney, Dawes County/Chadron, Deuel County/Chappell, Garden County/Oshkosh, Grant County/Hyannis, Kimball County/Kimball, Morrill County/Bridgeport, Scotts Bluff County/Gering, Sheridan County/Rushville, Sioux County/Harrison) Public Health Solutions District Health Department 995 East Highway 33/Suite 1 Crete Phone: (402) 826-3880 Website: http://phsneb.org (Fillmore County/Geneva, Gage County/Beatrice, Jefferson County/Fairbury, Saline County/Wilber, Thayer County/Hebron) Sarpy/Cass Health Department 701 Olson Drive/Suite 101 Papillion Phone: (402) 339-4334 x6978; Toll Free: (800) 645-0134 Website: www.sarpycasshealthdepartment.org (Cass County/Plattsmouth, Sarpy County/Papillion) South Heartland District Health Department 606 North Minnesota/Suite 2 Hastings Phone: (402) 462-6211; Toll Free: (877) 238-7595 Website: southheartlandhealth.org (Adams County/Hastings, Clay County/Clay Center, Nuckolls County/Nelson, Webster County/Red Cloud) Southeast District Health Department 2511 Schneider Avenue Auburn Phone: (402) 274-3993; Toll Free: (877) 777-0424 Website: www.sedhd.org (Johnson County/Tecumseh, Nemaha County/Auburn, Otoe County/Nebraska City, Pawnee County/Pawnee City, Richardson County/Falls City) Southwest Nebraska Public Health Department 404 West 10th Street McCook Phone: (308) 345-4223 Website: www.swhealth.ne.gov (Chase County/Imperial, Dundy County/Benkelman, Frontier County/Stockville, Furnas County/Beaver City, Hayes County/Hayes Center, Hitchcock County/Trenton, Keith County/ Ogallala, Perkins County/Grant, Red Willow/McCook) Three Rivers Public Health Department 2400 North Lincoln Street Fremont Phone: (402) 727-5396; Toll Free: (866) 727-5396 Website: https://threeriverspublichealth.org (Dodge County/Fremont, Saunders County/Wahoo, Washington County/Blair) Two Rivers Public Health Department 701 4th Avenue/Suite 1 Holdrege Phone: (308) 995-4778; Toll Free: (888) 669-7154 Website: http://trphd.org (Buffalo County/Kearney, Dawson County/Lexington, Franklin County/Franklin, Gosper County/Elwood, Harlan County/Alma, Kearney County/Minden, Phelps County/Holdrege) West Central District Health Department 111 N Dewey/Suite A North Platte Phone: (308) 696-1201 Website: http://wcdhd.org (Arthur County/Arthur, Hooker County/Mullen, Lincoln County/North Platte, Logan County/Stapleton, McPherson County/Tryon, Thomas County/Thedford) NOTE: After each county name is the county seat. |
