Coronavirus testing site moves to Gage County Fairgrounds

BEATRICE – This is the first week of a new Test Nebraska site for the coronavirus…having moved from Beatrice Community Hospital to the Gage County Fairgrounds. Persons must go online and register to set up a testing appointment.

Marketing and Public Relations Director for BCH, Diane Vicars says case managers at hospital clinics can assist people with online registration.
"My understanding is that we're averaging about eighty people coming through for a test each day, Monday through Thursday. We will also share that the hospital's Covid wing beds are full."

Vicars says because of that, the hospital is urging people to take precautions, such as wearing a mask, social distancing, avoid large groups and doing frequent hand washing.

"If you can stay home and stay away from crowds, that is the best. If you do need to go out we really cannot stress enough that you should wear a mask."

At the fairgrounds site, testing hours are 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Monday and Thursday….10 a.m. until noon on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Although many people testing positive for Covid-19 can recover at home, Vicars says the hospital is seeing several people who are seriously ill with the disease.
Vicars says some patients needing a higher level of care are transferred to Lincoln or Omaha hospitals….and in some cases, farther distances.

"Our emergency ambulance services did transport a patient to Kearney, in the past two weeks...because there simply were not any beds available for that patient. When you look at those numbers and they say that there appears to be sufficient beds and staffing... when you take the state as a whole, that could be....but you may have to be transported a little farther away to get that bed."

The latest figures from the Nebraska Health and Human Services Covid dashboard show there have been just over 300 new positive tests for Covid-19 in Gage County, over the past two weeks. That brings the total number of positive test cases to 866, in the county. In the five-county Public Health Solutions District, the total number of cases stands at 2,546 since the pandemic began.

Beatrice Public Schools Covid-19 dashboard yesterday shows 19 active cases of Covid within school buildings…..a dozen of them at the high school and middle school.