OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 continues to set records in Nebraska, and the state reported more than 1,000 new cases of the virus.
There were 673 people hospitalized with the virus on Tuesday, up from the previous day's record of 642, according to the state's online virus tracker. Nebraska reported 1,440 new cases of the virus on Tuesday to give the state 74,060 virus cases and 660 deaths since the pandemic began.
The state's largest hospitals have all begun limiting elective surgeries to help ensure they have enough beds free to treat critically ill patients, but they have not eliminated those procedures entirely. Nebraska officials said 29% of the intensive care beds across the state remained available Tuesday, but hospital officials have said the recent surge in cases is straining capacity.
The rate of new cases in Nebraska ranked seventh-highest among the states. The rate of new cases per 100,000 Nebraska residents over the past two weeks registered 759.41 on Tuesday, according to an Associated Press analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University.
The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Nebraska increased over the past two weeks from 854 new cases per day on Oct. 20 to 1,160.14 new cases per day on Tuesday.