LINCOLN, Neb. (KMTV) — On Tuesday, Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts and others held a coronavirus briefing.
3 News Now Reporter Jon Kipper provided live updates via Twitter:
Getting ready for Gov. Ricketts coming at 2. I’ll be putting updates in the thread like usual. pic.twitter.com/rm4s6Ytlnx
— Jon Kipper (@jonnykip21) May 5, 2020
Ricketts acknowledges Cinco De Mayo, but says only celebrate with your household, or at the very least, with 10 people or less.
— Jon Kipper (@jonnykip21) May 5, 2020
Ricketts says on Test Nebraska’s first day of testing they tested 251 people on Monday.
— Jon Kipper (@jonnykip21) May 5, 2020
Those folks will soon be getting email with their test results.
The lab reading the tests is set up at CHI St. Elizabeth’s in Lincoln.
— Jon Kipper (@jonnykip21) May 5, 2020
President of CHI St. Elizabeth’s says the lab will be staffed around the clock and they moved staff to make sure it can eventually run 3,000 tests a day.
— Jon Kipper (@jonnykip21) May 5, 2020
Ricketts asked about anti-body tests, which tells you if you have had the virus.
— Jon Kipper (@jonnykip21) May 5, 2020
Ricketts says the state has not focused on that as of now. Just on the the tests to tell you if you CURRENTLY have the virus.
Ricketts says the state has spent about $25 million on personal protective equipment so far.
— Jon Kipper (@jonnykip21) May 5, 2020
Says there’s been less of a demand on ventilators.
Ricketts says the state has spent about $25 million on personal protective equipment so far.
— Jon Kipper (@jonnykip21) May 5, 2020
Says there’s been less of a demand on ventilators.
Ricketts again asked about testing inmates.
— Jon Kipper (@jonnykip21) May 5, 2020
5 guards have tested positive, but no inmates have been tested. Ricketts says no inmates have shown symptoms.
Ricketts asked about a possible meat shortage. Says he didn’t tell grocery stores to limit meat purchases.
— Jon Kipper (@jonnykip21) May 5, 2020
Hy-Vee, among others are limiting customer purchases.
Ricketts says 6 teams of contract tracers have been deployed to track down people that have contacted people that have COVID-19.
— Jon Kipper (@jonnykip21) May 5, 2020
Hoping to soon have around 300+ people doing this.
Ultimate goal is 1,000 people.
Ricketts says there’s no need to slow down on eating meat, or to stock up.
— Jon Kipper (@jonnykip21) May 5, 2020
Says to continue to buy it normally, you just might not find the normal selection.
There’s been some worries about the accuracy of the Test Nebraska tests after some possible issues in Utah.
— Jon Kipper (@jonnykip21) May 5, 2020
Ricketts says it’s the same tests and process as the state public health lab has already been doing.
You can watch the briefing below: