LINCOLN- By almost all available measures, Nebraska's Covid-19 infection rates are as low as local health officials have ever seen them, and have seemingly come to a lull as emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and deaths from the virus have decreased significantly over the past few months. "I'm really happy with that, said Dr. Matthew Donahue, Nebraska's state epidemiologist, "Before, we've hit peaks and valleys and then we go back up. We've hit a valley and we've stayed in that valley for quite some time..."

On the national level, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have reported a small increase in overall emergency visits and test positivity that has been, of late, steadily declining. According to Donahue, Nebraska's lower cases are likely due to immunity conferred by vaccines and past infections. Despite more Nebraskans spending time outdoors, overall disease transmission is far lower compared to past summers.

The southern United States, however, has seen significant summer increases as more people gather indoors to escape the heat. Indeed, Donahue believes Nebraska, as well as the nation at large, is not in the clear just yet. By mid-June, around 550 deaths a week from Covid-19 were still being reported nationally. As new Covid-19 variants continue to emerge, Donahue said he's not seeing any on the horizon that are raising big alarms.

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