LINCOLN- Covid 19 and Flu hospitalizations are on the rise once again in Nebraska. For the week ending Dec. 3, an average of 214 Nebraskans were hospitalized with COVID, up from 181 the week before. Those numbers, however, are far below recent winter peaks. In addition, 323 Nebraskans were hospitalized with influenza-like illness, up by 175 from the week before.

Dr. Jason Kruger, chief medical officer with Lincoln’s St. Elizabeth Regional Medical Center, said in a call with reporters that his hospital is nearly full, as are most community hospitals across the state. The emergency department has been calling in extra staff to handle the number of patients. The increased volume in the hospital includes more children.

The walk-in or priority care clinics in the Omaha metro area historically have seen about 280 patients a day at this time of year. Now they’re averaging 480 patients a day, most with respiratory symptoms. The rising COVID-19 hospitalizations in Nebraska come despite the fact that overall cases reported in the state are flat. The state recorded 1,997 COVID cases last week, virtually unchanged from both the prior week and the week before that, according to CDC figures.

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