OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Nebraska continued to see deaths from and confirmed cases of the new coronavirus rise this week, with 10 new deaths and 357 new cases reported on Wednesday.
The state's total deaths since the outbreak began stood Thursday at 163, while total confirmed cases reached nearly 13,000, according to Nebraska's online virus tracking site.
The site also showed the virus continuing to put pressure on the state's hospitals. The site said Nebraska's medical centers were 43% full, with 1,662 of the state's 3,882 hospital beds still available, and 319 of the state's 737 intensive care unit beds available.
The new numbers came as a nursing home in central Nebraska emerged as a hot spot for the virus, the Omaha World-Herald reported Thursday. Westfield Quality Care of Aurora, just east of Grand Island, has seen 13 of its 64 residents die of the virus, while 33 have tested positive. Another 24 employees at the home also have been infected by the virus.
For some infected people, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, the virus can cause severe illness or death. But for most people, it causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, that clear up in two to three weeks.