OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Health officials say it's important to remain vigilant about social distancing to limit the spread of the coronavirus even though vaccines have started to be administered and the state's virus numbers have improved recently.
Douglas County Health Director Adi Pour said the arrival of vaccines this month offers hope, but it will be some time before enough people have been vaccinated to make a difference in the pandemic.
"Until 60% to 70% of the community is vaccinated, you still need to wear the mask, you still need to have social distancing, you still need to take all of those precautions," Pour said.
Over the past several weeks, the virus numbers have been improving in Nebraska. The rate of people being infected with the virus went from the fifth-highest in the nation early this month to the 29th-highest rate on Monday.
The state said the number of people hospitalized with the virus remained unchanged Monday at 582. That is significantly lower than the peak of 987 set on Nov. 20 although it is still more than 2.5 times higher than it was on Oct. 1.
Nebraska reported 721 new cases of the virus and 25 deaths Monday to give the state 157,103 cases and 1,511 deaths since the pandemic began