Panhandle Unified Command recorded 17 deaths on Tuesday, including 2 in Dawes County and 3 in Box Butte County. Some were a reporting catch-up after the Thanksgiving holiday. There have now been 67 deaths in the region.
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the region topped 6,000 after 95 new cases were reported Tuesday, but the number of active cases dropped to 2,399 with 117 more recoveries.
The region has 63 cases that are hospitalized, 4 fewer than on Monday, and nearly 44% of the 1,236 coronavirus tests given last week were positive. There have been 6,087 confirmed cases and 3,621 recoveries since the pandemic began.
Dawes County reported 9 new cases and 15 recoveries as the number of active cases dropped from 71 to 58 . The county has had 483 total cases, 413 recoveries and 12 deaths.
Chadron State College, where the semester ended last Wed, had 2 more students recover, leaving 9 active cases – 7 students and 2 staff – while total cases stayed at 139 including 115 students.
The Chadron Public Schools had 1 new case, giving it 1 active case at the high school and 1 at the middle school. The number of current quarantines remains at 13.
Box Butte County has 643 total cases with 97 active and 6 deaths, 3 more than on Monday. Sheridan County is at 278 total cases with 29 active and 4 deaths while Sioux County is unchanged at 18 cases, 3 active, and 1 death.