Health officials continue to provide updates on COVID-19 in the panhandle. 

Monday, officials with Panhandle Public Health District (PPHD) said there have been 71 new cases of COVID-19 over the past week. Only Scotts Bluff County had more than 10 new cases confirmed.

No new deaths were announced, keeping the number of COVID-19 related deaths in the panhandle at 186. 

On the vaccine front, health officials say over 13,900 adults in the panhandle have now received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. That's over 21 percent of all adults in the region. 

This week, the panhandle will receive 1,900 more doses of the vaccine in addition to the needed number of second doses of the vaccine. 

COVID-19 vaccines are currently available for panhandle residents 65 or older and phase 1b employees to include educators, childcare providers, grocery and convenience store workers, railroad employees, truckers, public transit, postal service, cooperatives, and meat and food processing facility employees.

If you are interested in receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, you can do so by clicking here.

According to the CDC, people who are fully vaccinated do not need to practice social distancing or wear masks when at an indoor gathering with other fully vaccinated people. The same applies when visiting people from a single household who are at low risk for severe COVID-19. 

The CDC says fully vaccinated people should still wear masks when around unvaccinated people who are at high risk of severe COVID-19 and when in public. 

The panhandle's risk dial is unchanged from last week. It remains in the yellow, or moderate, risk category.