LINCOLN, Neb.-Governor Ricketts laid out the State of Nebraska's plan when it comes to the closure of schools and banning of large gatherings amid the coronavirus outbreak.
At a news conference Friday morning, Ricketts said that there are currently 13 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus in Nebraska, all of them travel related. Ricketts said "community spread" is of the utmost concern to state officials, but at this point, there are no cases of community spread in the state. Ricketts described community spread as cases where the exposure to the virus cannot be identified.
Ricketts said the virus spreads easily through coughing and reminded residents to take normal precautions such as washing hands and covering coughs and sneezes.
When it comes to school closures in the state, Ricketts said that when one percent of the population has the virus, from community spread, schools in the state will be closed for six to eight weeks.
Ricketts added that each individual Educational Service Unit in the state, as well as the school districts can be more conservative when it comes to closing schools, but the threshold for the state is a one percent infection rate from community spread. That threshold has not been met.
Ricketts was joined by state and local health and education officials.