Nebraska reported more than 2,000 new coronavirus cases for the second day in a row Wednesday and the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 remains at record levels in the state.
The state said 2,209 new virus cases and one death were reported Wednesday to give the state 89,942 cases and 731 deaths. And the number of people hospitalized with the virus increased to set another new record at 885.
The surge in cases has significantly increased demand for testing. At sites run by the state’s main testing service, TestNebraska, the wait to get a test increased to 48 hours this week at most sites in Omaha and Lincoln. Officials with the state Department of Health and Human Services said testing capacity was increased in those cities recently to help meet the demand.
The state continues to have the sixth-highest rate of infection, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, and over the past week, one person in every 137 people in Nebraska was diagnosed with COVID-19.
The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Nebraska has more than doubled over the past two weeks, going from 852.43 new cases per day on Oct. 28 to 1,953.29 new cases per day on Wednesday.