COVID-19 Cases are Rising with Students Back at School.

Even though there are no cases of students contracting the virus while in the classroom, it’s what goes on outside of school that has caused the increase in COVID-19 cases.

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On August 28 at 3:30 p.m., Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird updated the public on how Lincoln is handling COVID-19 with school back in session. Baird said that there has been a 47% increase of positive cases in 11 to 29 year olds over the past week. This is most likely related to students moving back on campuses.

Despite the rising number of cases, there have been no cases of K-12 or college students contracting the virus while in the classroom. The rise in cases of this age group is attributed to students not adhering to social distancing guidelines outside of class and the rising number of students who are getting tested.

“Over 1000 college students have been tested over the past 10 days,” says Health Director Pat Lopez.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln has free COVID-19 testing on campus for students through Test Nebraska and the Student Health Center. University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Nebraska Wesleyan University have plans on expanding testing that is available and convenient for students.

There is still a concern with students contracting the virus outside of the classroom. Students need to continue to be diligent in stopping the spread by adhering to the CDC guidelines and following Nebraska’s directed health measures. “To all the students who are providing leadership on campus to protect your classmates (...) and to protect the chances of you being able to stay on campus for the school year, I say thank you,” says Baird.

With the first week of in-person classes at UNL coming to an end, the university is still hopeful that their new policies will lower the spread of COVID-19. The university requires masks in all campus buildings, limits the amount of people allowed in each room and has increased sanitation and cleaning. A new web page called the Daily Dashboard is updated everyday to show how many UNL students tested positive in a day, along with the running total of cases on campus so far.

Chancellor of University of Nebraska-Lincoln Ronnie Green says that he remains confident that the policies put in place, along with the students’ determination to adhere to the guidelines are what is going to keep UNL up and running.

“I have been on campus routinely through this past week and have seen an increasing level, as the week has occurred, in confidence of application of those policies and procedures,” says Green.

Mayor Baird wanted to remind everyone, especially students, that there is no shame in having a positive case. She encourages everyone to continue to get tested and help keep the community safe by following Lancaster County’s directed health measure, which is now extended to September 30.

As of today, there have been 3,875 reported cases of COVID-19 in Lincoln with 1,820 of those cases being recovered. Today, there were 73 positive cases. Lincoln was recently moved from the moderate risk of contracting the virus back to high risk on the COVID-19 risk dial. For up-to-date information on COVID-19 in Lincoln, visit www.lincoln.ne.gov/city/covid19/