NEBRASKA- COVID-19 data in Nebraska, which already has been scarce since the state stopped publishing a dashboard of information at the end of June, has become even scarcer.

The expiration of an executive order on Saturday means Nebraska’s health districts can no longer publicly report COVID-19 statistics, such as case numbers and vaccinations, for counties with fewer than 20,000 people.

Khalilah LeGrand, communications director for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, said state law stipulates that data collected on communicable diseases can be released to the public as long as it’s done in a way that “ensure(s) that the identify of any individual concerned cannot be ascertained.”

A federal “safe harbor” standard sets that level at 20,000 people, which DHHS is following now that the executive order has expired.

“We make every effort to balance transparency in sharing information with the public and protecting the privacy of Nebraska’s residents,” LeGrand said in an email.

Of Nebraska’s 93 counties, only 17 have at least 20,000 people. And five of the state’s 19 health districts don’t contain a single county with at least 20,000 people, meaning they can no longer report data on any of their individual counties.

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