Nebraska

We just updated the race and ethnicity data in the COVID Racial Data Tracker and we're happy to report progress. Only four states do not report some kind of race/ethnicity data.

They are: North Dakota, Nebraska, Nevada, and South Dakota.

https://t.co/hTyV0MA5tA

South Dakota began reporting race & ethnicity data today. In a 90% white state, almost 70% of cases are people of color because of meatpacking outbreaks.

Of the 3 states still not reporting any of this data -- NE, ND, NV -- Nebraska, especially, may have similar dynamics. https://t.co/ox1kC9bIb1

With previous data, governors have been able to make more information available. Nebraska's @GovRicketts, North Dakota's @DougBurgum, and Nevada's @GovSisolak probably can improve transparency, if their constituents let them know how important this data is.

Two weeks ago, @Nebraskagov's @GovRicketts told @eduff88 and @owhnews they were working on publishing race and ethnicity data.

https://t.co/yN8Ehkc17L

Since then, the large number of meatpacking outbreaks, which disproportionately affect people of color, has become a national issue. Yet, still, Nebraska has not released demographic data. https://t.co/iudqVEyVei

In Nebraska: Hall, Dakota, Colfax, and Dawson counties all have COVID-19 hotspots. Local reporting has tied these outbreaks to meatpacking plants.

Hall, Dawson, and Dakota: https://t.co/y2gNSInW7J

Colfax: https://t.co/zBAODGPUw5

Nebraska is still 1 of only 3 states not releasing any race or ethnicity information.

The others are North Dakota (@ndgov & @DougBurgum) and Nevada (@NVGovernment & @GovSisolak)

We think better data is better for everyone. It informs where governments spend money, allocate resources, and manage a crisis. Residents can make better decisions.

Data is not a panacea, but it can help Nebraska and others plan for the rest of this pandemic—and future ones.

Almost 24k new cases reported today. Fourth day in a row over 23k, which hasn't happened since early May.

The south and west (and to a lesser extent the southwest) have growing, newer outbreaks, which are beginning to offset the abating outbreak in the NE. https://t.co/7kZFiNpBLz

We ~finally~ have some race/ethnicity data from NE and ND, but we're getting it via e-mailed spreadsheets and occasional press conferences.

Initial numbers suggest large disparities: in NE, a state with an 11% Hispanic population, 40% of those hospitalized have been Hispanic.

People in Nebraska and North Dakota deserve regular race/ethnicity updates @govricketts @dougburnam. Most states began reporting this info over a month ago.

North Dakota says they're not posting because they don't want people to misinterpret the data. Nebraska says they're waiting because they have a high % of unknowns — but this is true of many states.

On a per capita basis, the South and West are not yet approaching the levels that the Northeast experienced in spring.

Testing was also less available in the NE at the height of the outbreak, so a smaller percentage of infections were confirmed. https://t.co/RttQUfLd0d

More cases have been discovered in the South than in any other region. Caveat: Testing shortages in the NE outbreak mean that tests caught only a fraction of infections. We don’t yet know what % of infections are being caught in the South, where backlogs have begun to appear. https://t.co/6If2BugbBV

There’s been a lot of discussions about deaths continuing to trend down as cases have surged. This chart provides a partial answer to what’s been happening. The falling numbers in the NE were offsetting rising deaths in AZ, TX, FL. https://t.co/hmZkhZXTPS

Attention API users: As part of our ongoing work to provide more comparable data across states, we are switching 2 more states numbers in our totalTestResults field: NV and NE.

There are 3 states reporting over 500 hospitalizations per million people: ND, SD, and now NE. https://t.co/YwNwFc4CIz

Only 4 states—HI, ME, NH, VT—have fewer than 100 people per million hospitalized with COVID-19. South Dakota and Nebraska have the most people hospitalized per capita, with North Dakota, Illinois, and Indiana close behind. https://t.co/mxRLdjJQvH

COVID-19 tore through Nebraska long-term care facilities as the state reported close to a 70% increase in new long-term care deaths since last week. https://t.co/M1zv9Kwsav

Cases in the NE and West are increasingly rapidly. The 7-day average for cases per million people is up to 628 in the NE and 644 in the West. https://t.co/gF8gKNWabU