LINCOLN- Four sororities and one fraternity have been placed into quarantine after small clusters of students tested positive for the virus. Initially, each house had only 4 or 5 cases, but that is enough to have to place the house into quarantine. UNL has reported around 200 cases so far. All houses began quarantining before the official notification from the Lincoln-Lancaster Health Department. It is unknown if additional cases have occurred.
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LINCOLN- All units at the Nebraska State Penitentiary have been placed into quarantine after 29 inmates test positive for the virus. This was discovered after all inmates were tested Friday. This will allow for the prison administrators to continue to test the population smoothly. The entire facility will be in quarantine for at least 2 weeks.
This came right as the penitentiary was going to begin in person visits again. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 64 staff members at the corrections department have tested positive.
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LINCOLN- Governor Ricketts finally made a statement about the fate of no Nebraska football this fall. The Governor believes the conference did not do a good job in announcing their decision and would like to see the Big Ten reconsider. The decision to postpone fall sports comes with many consequences, Ricketts says. In Nebraska, he believes holding games would be very manageable and had originally been working with the conference to have games.
The Governor did not appreciate that the Big Ten put out a schedule and just a week later decided to pull the season.
Eight Husker players are suing the Big Ten for how they handled this decision and are being represented by Mike Flood, former Speaker of the Legislature and current candidate for the Legislature.
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OMAHA- 127 high school football games were played this weekend across the state. That is 96% of the normal amount of opening weekend games. However, coaches are constantly worried that they might get the call that someone on their team has the virus. This happened to eight schools in the Class A division. Teams who have yet to have an outbreak will continue play this Friday.
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OMAHA- A nationwide debate has emerged on whether it is asking too much of college students to follow basic COVID-19 rules. Many universities across the country have had to shut down due to an immense amount of students not following any CDC guidelines. People believe the small amount of students throwing and attending large social gatherings have put entire universities at risk for shutdown.
An administrator from North Carolina said that it is hard to criticize students for doing what has driven the most fond memories for alumni and secures their loyalty to the university. Many large events held by older adults have also demonstrated that even adults are sometimes incapable of following simple social distancing rules and mask mandates.
Almost every part of college requires human interaction, so to send students back to campus may have been asking too much of them. Some believe that sending students to campus shows that universities do not have their students safety as a high concern.
The University of Alabama has reported over 1,000 positive cases, whereas UNL is sitting at around 100 and Creighton closer to 50 cases. Other schools have switched to completely remote learning after just 2 weeks in-person. Colleges are having the hardest time with trying to monitor students off of campus where the rules are completely out of their hands.
The first weekend students arrived back to Lincoln, there were 23 complaints about parties that came through. The average amount of party complaints on a weekend during the school year in Lincoln is 32. Universities are aware that it is naive to expect 100% compliance, however they still hope their students are taking the pandemic seriously.
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LINCOLN- Secretary of State Bob Evnen ruled Thursday that a medical marijuana initiative should be placed on the Nov. 3 ballot, though he said he had “no doubt” that his decision will be challenged in court.
Evnen said Thursday evening that while “there are a number of problems” with the language of the proposed constitutional amendment submitted by Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, his review found that the language was “legally sufficient” to be placed before voters. “This was a close call,” said Evnen, who is an attorney.
Evnan's decision followed his review of letters submitted Wednesday by Mark Fahleson, a Lincoln attorney and former head of the Nebraska Republican Party, who challenged the ballot language on behalf of unnamed Nebraskans who oppose legalization of medical marijuana. Fahleson declined to comment following the announcement, but said that a decision on whether to challenge Evnen's decision in court would be made soon.
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OMAHA- The longtime leader of Nebraska's anti-abortion movement has died of cancer at the age of 63. Schmit-Albin committed her entire career to advancing the pro-life movement in Nebraska. Most recently, she worked to pass LB814, which puts an end to one type of second-trimester abortion. The organization she led is a very large political force in the state, with their endorsement being crucial for candidates.
Governor Pete Ricketts recognized Schmit-Albin with honorary admiralship. She also won the Catholic Conference's Gospel of Life Award in 2019. Her father served in the Legislature from 1969 to 1993, growing up around the Capitol inspired her life-long anti-abortion work.
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OMAHA- Omaha's very own Warren Buffett will be celebrating his 90th birthday this Sunday, August 30th. At his age, he is still running Berkshire Hathaway which he built into one of the world's biggest, longest running and most respected conglomerate. Within the Fortune 500, Warren Buffett is the oldest CEO.
Buffett and his family and friends added some theories as to how he has lived such a long, fulfilling life.
They say to find a job you love, surround yourself with people you enjoy, laugh a lot and face each day with a sunny outlook. Buffett says he has been able to do what he loves everyday while also having fun, which is a huge plus in life.
As the fourth richest person in the world, he still wakes up excited to go into the office everyday, including Saturday's. You would swear he is no older than 60.
He has cut back on work hours and other commitments, but is still very sharp. The same questions about retirement have been asked since he was 70 years old, and everyone around him is past the point of asking. Susie Buffett, Warren's daughter, bets her father will make it to age 100.
Buffett was born less than a year after the stock market crash that led to the Great Depression, but he says he has seen nothing like what is happening in current times due to the pandemic. Longtime friend Bill Gates says he sees the world as "endlessly fascinating". Gates and Buffett have talked for hours every week for over 20 years now.
His job requirements have greatly decreased after Greg Abel and Ajit Jain were named vice chairmen of the company. Abel mostly oversees non-insurance businesses such as BNSF Railway Co., whereas Jain oversees the insurance operations. Many believe one of these two will be named CEO eventually.
After having to cancel this year's shareholder meeting, Buffett quickly created a way to be able to interact with the shareholders through online Q&A sessions. It is his favorite time of year.
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WASHINGTON- Bipartisan Representatives Lizzie Fletcher (D-Texas), Marc Veasey (D-Texas), Bob Latta (R-Ohio) and Troy Balderson (R-Ohio) created a bill to establish a pipeline safety enhancement program. The Pipeline Safety Pilot Program Act is an amendment to Fletcher's PHMSA reauthorization bill. This bill has backing from the American Petroleum Institute and the Association of Oil Pipe Lines. The bill will help establish training programs to enhance safety for workers from 2020-2026 to look at new technologies and operational practices for pipeline facilities and hazardous liquid pipelines facilities.
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OMAHA- The Nebraska Supreme Court agreed to take up a case filed by groups to get a casino gambling measure on the ballot in November. Lynne McNally from Keep the Money in Nebraska and the Nebraska Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association filed for a legal review of the secretary of state's decision to keep the measure off the ballot. There are other groups that are suing the Secretary of State Bob Evnen's decision, including Ho-Chunk Inc.
Oral arguments for this issue will begin September 2nd. Evnen said the petitions to add gambling to horse racetracks did not stick to a single topic and the language was unclear. Advocates for gambling on the horse racetracks say the timing of the decision only left them 17 days to seek review and make the ballot on time. The filing said the decision was incorrect because the initiatives all meet the requirements of the Nebraska Constitution.
If the initiatives are approved, they would amend the state constitution to allow gambling at the tracks, how Nebraska would regulate this practice and how the state would tax the industry.
One of the initiatives would allow for the gambling related tax revenues toward property tax reliefs. Evnen said that is considered granting favors for votes, which is logrolling. Antigambling advocates believe the additional revenue is not worth the social problems and increase in bankruptcies.
Lawyers for the gambling advocates have fought to have the case heard directly by the Nebraska Supreme Court instead of the Lancaster County District Court.
One of the filings highlighted that the Supreme Court should see that the ballot measures do not address the expansion of gambling on Native American lands.
Dave Lopez, a lawyer, says Nebraskans have kept this kind of gambling out of the state for over a century and everyone deserves to know what this kind of gambling could do for the state.
Nebraska Attorney general Doug Peterson will be defending Evnen's decision in court.
Ho-Chunk Inc.'s CEO said the state's decision is politically driven and is not actually rooted in law. He also believes the state needs to respect the 475,000 Nebraskans who signed the petitions to get the issue on the ballot.
The last time a gambling related issue appeared on a ballot was in 2006. Nebraskans rejected the proposal to allow video keno devices.
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LINCOLN- Terrell McKinney, a Creighton Law student and former All-American wrestler at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, was seeking to replace State Senator Ernie Chambers by representing North Omaha. McKinney missed his scheduled hearing with the Nebraska Board of Pardons. He and his attorney decided against pursuing a pardon for misdemeanor charges that occurred six to ten years ago. He did not understand why his name was on the pardon agenda, even though he never requested it.
In 2016, he had requested a pardon for charges that were mostly traffic related, however there were also resisting arrest and disorderly conduct charges on his record. There were many letters sent to the board in support of pardoning McKinney. Governor Ricketts, the chair of the Board, did not know why McKinney appeared on the agenda either. He believes McKinney's case from 2016 is just now coming back up after a huge backlog of cases being brought to the board.
McKinney placed second in the primary election in May. He will be running against former Omaha City Council member Fred Conley for the seat. Senator Chambers has spoken in support of McKinney.
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LINCOLN- 11 state senators called for a special session on racial justice issues on Tuesday. The now retired State Senator Ernie Chambers was part of this group, but still admitted that the session most likely will not happen. Senator Adam Morfeld would also like to see this special session come to fruition, but he knows it will be difficult, especially after last session. However, he also knows there are plenty of Senators that care about these issues and want change.
The group of Senators created a list of 10 purposes for the special session and delivered it to the Secretary of State. Some of the outlined reasons for calling the session include civilian oversight of law enforcement, workplace protections for COVID-19, unemployment compensation and increased protections against eviction.
33 Senators need to agree to have the session in order for it to actually be called by Governor Ricketts. This comes after civilians, racial justice organizations and the ACLU of Nebraska called for the session.
Senator Machaela Cavanaugh believes these issues cannot wait until the normal session convenes in January to be addressed. She says everyday that goes by without change, more lives are impacted.
The other signatures on the letter included Senators Matt Hansen, Patty Pansing Brooks, Sara Hoard, Megan Hunt, Rick Kolowski, John McCollister, Tony Vargas and Justin Wayne.
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OMAHA- Governor Pete Ricketts put out a statement for college students pleading with them to follow the health rules. He hopes that students are able to put some of the social events aside for awhile so the state can combat the virus. Ricketts is remaining positive in his thought that the University will be able to continue in-person learning for the remainder of the semester.
The Governor particularly noted how remote learning affects those with learning disabilities. Shutting schools down in the spring did not produce the best outcomes for special education students. These students deserve to have equal learning opportunities to their peers. Parents and other guardians or helpers do not always have the skills to be able to help their students in a remote setting which only hurts the child. Students are also missing social interaction which is a huge part of development.
Ricketts is also hoping parents will be cooperative when local health departments have to conduct contact tracing. He says being able to know who is positive, where they went and who they interacted with will only help slow the virus. Parents also need to keep their kids home from school if they are even waiting on getting results back.
The Nebraska Education Commissioner, Matt Blomstedt, says the cases that have been showing up were contracted from other places. Meaning the spread was not necessarily happening at the school.
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LINCOLN- Many people who got tested at two Test Nebraska sites in Lincoln were forced to wait twice the average period to get their test results. Some of those being tested said they did not receive any notification telling them their test had been received at St. Elizabeth as they were told would happen. This occurred between August 19th and 20th. When they reached out, they were not greeted with any answers other than there had been an influx of tests and to expect a longer wait. Some were even told their test did not exist. Much later in the week, people were notified that their test had been received, but that still meant a longer wait.
The Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department said this happened because of a 'technical difficulty'. The lab was not aware of any problem and it did not seem obvious that there was a problem with sending out the text and email notifications. Governor Ricketts told Nebraskans to be patient when getting tested. The spokeswomen for Test Nebraska said the turnaround time has remained the same for the entirety of the pandemic. DHHS and Lancaster County are working together to solve these lab issues.
All of the people who had to wait to get their test results back have since received their results. Test Nebraska has seemed to get the issue under control.
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NEW YORK- A 33-year-old man was diagnosed with coronavirus for the second time, more than four months after his first infection. However, he has not experienced any symptoms this time around. This shows that his body has created some sort of immune response to the virus that has allowed him to feel completely normal. Although he is asymptomatic, he is still able to spread it to many people, which is obviously the issue. Doctors around the world are saying this is a textbook example of how immunity works.
This man had no antibodies after his first infection, but had them after his second bout. He then received another test after traveling to Europe and it showed he had been infected with a strand of the virus that had been circulating in that region. Scientists believe he was infected with different 'versions' of the virus. It is still unclear how common it is for someone to be reinfected and what that reinfection might look like for different people. Researchers also say that it is possible to have a worse reaction at the time of second infection.
Experts still do not know how often a person can become reinfected and how soon after the first diagnosis they are able to be infected and test positive.
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GRAND ISLAND- Covid-19 patients at CHI Health St. Francis in Grand Island have been treated with steroids, Remdesivir and convalescent plasma. These treatments have evolved over time and are different than what was originally being used at the beginning of the pandemic. St. Francis is using steroids called dexamethasone to treat patients who are in need of oxygen. A newer development allows for a recovered covid-19 patient to give their plasma which then helps another patient recover quicker.
Patients who sleep on their chest for overnight and can lay like that for multiple hours a day are shown to breathe more easily and recover quicker, which is a new study St. Francis medical personnel is using on their patients.
CHI Health St. Francis has moved away from the use of hydroxychloroquine, which was an early stage treatment used for patients, until more research is published.
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OMAHA- The University reported having less than 25 cases as of August 12. The Kappa Alpha Theta sorority confirmed one positive case and four self-confirmed cases, with everyone living in the house at the time under quarantine.
UNL plans to update the community on covid-19 cases through posting on Nebraska Today and weekly updates on the university's covid-19 page. They are also working on developing a mechanism with the Health Department. The school has also opted to push out posts on social media to quickly alert students and the public.
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WASHINGTON- One of the first coronavirus outbreaks on that Seattle boat that really started the conversation about the severity of the virus also led to more research on the role of antibodies in fighting the disease. 100 crew members were infected, but 3 other members were spared because they already had antibodies. But there is a catch.
Although that example could make someone feel as though they are immune after having fought off one round of the virus, that is not actually the case. Researchers do not even know what immunity to the coronavirus will look like. It is still important to look at those 3 fisherman that did not contract the virus a second time.
What scientists know now is that immunity to covid-19 does look similar to immunity to the flu-- it is not black and white. The immune response is wired to fight at very high rates when the danger is high, but they relax as the danger comes lower or passes. Researchers do not know what the immune response to covid looks like after long periods of time in terms of reinfection. The CDC put out reports that show people have months of immunity as the people in the study did not seek another test for 3 months after recovery. It is also important to remember that retesting can lead to false positives. This still does not mean you are completely immune for 3 months after recovery from the virus.
These studies do show very positive advances in research. No one knows when the United States will reach herd immunity, which will make it harder for the virus to spread at faster rates. This kind of immunity may only come after a vaccine is available around the entire country. A covid-19 vaccine could be annual like the flu vaccine or it could be a one time vaccine with booster immunizations later.
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WASHINGTON- Syracuse University suspended 23 students after their involvement in planning a huge gathering for their freshman class. This was quickly shut down by the campus Department of Safety within 15 minutes as this could cause the university to go into chaos if there is a large enough uptick in cases following this event. Syracuse administrators are very disappointed and will continue to take the pandemic very seriously. This gathering could cause the campus to shut down before the academic year even starts. Along with many other universities, including UNL, students can now be punished by suspension or expulsion for throwing or attending a large gathering.
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LINCOLN- Bryan Health will start using this new form of testing in its emergency department this week.
This rapid antigen test not only gets results much faster but it is also much less invasive, only having to go about 1 inch into the patients nose. The test results come back in just 15 minutes, as opposed to the common 2-4 day wait. This will only be used in emergency situations when the patient is also experiencing symptoms of Covid-19. This will be used to ensure the patients are cared for in the best way and will help nurses and doctors be especially cautious. The availability of this test is incredibly low, but the antigen tests are easier to get than the molecular tests that are also gaining popularity.
School-aged children are now starting to test positive for Covid-19 at a much higher rate and will only continue while schools remain open. Tests rose 5% in just a few weeks at the beginning of August. Right before UNL students headed back to campus, the percentage of 20-29 year olds testing positive dropped from 38% in July to 16 in August%.
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