Nebraska has recorded 654 COVID-19 deaths so far, but at least one public health expert says the number could skyrocketing.
Dr James Lawler, director of the University of Nebraska Medical Center Global Center for Health Security, is warning the number of deaths could nearly quadruple by the end of next month.
Lawler says if current trends continue without more stringent public health measures or better compliance with the measures already in place, Nebraska could have more than 2,500 deaths by January.
There were 934 new cases of COVID-19 reported in Nebraska Sunday along with 526 more recoveries and 2 deaths to push the number of active cases to a record 26,239 – including 613 who are hospitalized, also a record.
The percentage of available hospital and ICU beds improved yesterday to 32% and 37% respectively while available respirators dipped to 77%.
Nebraska has had 71,666 confirmed cases and 44,773 recoveries since the start of the pandemic.