OMAHA- Omaha's St. Joseph Villa nursing home was a safe haven for elderly residents for the beginning of the pandemic. Now, 16 of their residents have died, the second-highest death toll of any nursing home in Nebraska. Nine Nebraska nursing homes have double-digit death tolls. Many family members believe their loved ones would still be here if not for COVID-19.

Governor Pete Ricketts and other state health officials have rejected calls to release the names of fatalities. Deaths in nursing homes are nearing 200, making up half of the states 400-plus deaths. Five of the nine homes who have reached double-digit deaths are in Douglas County, and one in Grand Island has seen 20 resident deaths. An outbreak in a Perkins County nursing home claimed the lives of more than a third of the home's 26 residents.

The federal government just handed down a mandate that forces nursing home facilities with high rates of COVID-19 to test all staff members at least once a week. A strategy that could be a 'game changer' with new fast testing being provided to 188 of Nebraska's nusing homes- the same technology that has allowed Big Ten football to return in October.

In areas where the percentage of positive cases is above 10%, all homes must test staff twice a week. If it is between 5% to 10%, they have to be tested once a week. 135 of the 188 homes have already received their devices and kits.

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