Health Officials: Decrease in Nebraska's COVID Hospitalizations Is Temporary

Health officials say active COVID-19 hospitalizations are still critically high even as that number has dropped to the lowest point in three weeks.

Bryan Medical Center CEO John Woodrich says he’s very concerned about the numbers, especially with an expected surge after the holidays.

"When you see it go down a little bit, just don’t think you’re going to see a natural trend that it’s going to continue to drop," Woodrich said. "I think we’ll see other peaks occur over the next several months."

As of Wednesday night, 853 Nebraskans are in the hospital with the virus. That’s nearly quadruple the number two months ago.

A little over 21% of staffed hospital beds statewide are occupied by COVID patients. If that falls below 20%, some restrictions will be eased. If it reaches 25%, some restrictions will be added.