BEATRICE – One day after an elderly woman was reported to have died from COVID-19, Gage County has a second confirmed COVID-19 case.


Public Health Solutions Health District reported a male patient in his fifties reportedly has experienced mild symptoms and is currently self-isolating at home. Health officials are investigating to identify people who may have been in close contact with the man, in order the take steps to prevent further spread of the virus. Beatrice Mayor Stan Wirth says the man resides in Beatrice.


Wirth says the city has been in contact with Governor Pete Ricketts about including Gage County as a Directed Health Measures county.
"I think that's our hope among those individuals who are having meetings with the command center, almost on a daily basis, anymore. I think that is our hope and we're going to try to convince the Governor that is what needs to be done, to try to limit the spread as much as we possibly can. So, I think we are going to make a unified appeal to the Governor, to do just that".


Health officials also say that the first confirmed cased of COVID-19, involving the death of a 90-year-old woman in an assisted living facility at Adams, was a community spread case.  An investigation made that determination when public health officials were unable to identify how or where the individual became infected.

Wirth says if Gage County is included in a DHM, additional steps to prevent spread of the virus would be put in place.
"We've already discussed what types of control measures would be put into place. But, I would be just a little premature until the Governor makes that announcement".

 
Public Health Solutions is working with state health officials on a Directed Health Measure for all five counties within the district….Gage, Jefferson, Saline, Thayer and Fillmore.  Up until early Friday evening, those counties had not been included in such a designated area.