Nebraska hospital capacity strained by coronavirus cases

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska reported one of the smallest numbers of new virus cases this month on Sunday, but the number of people hospitalized with the virus remained high and continues to strain hospital capacity in the state.

The state reported 1,032 new virus cases Sunday to give Nebraska a total of 114,061 cases since the pandemic began. On Sunday, the seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in the state was 2,313.57.

Nebraska said 976 people were being treated for COVID-19 in the state's hospitals, which is slightly below the record of 987 set on Friday. So 23% of the state's hospital beds are occupied by COVID-19 patients, which is approaching the threshold of 25% that will trigger more social distancing restrictions from the state.

Nebraska had the seventh-highest rate of infection in the nation on Sunday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Over the past week, one person in every 121 people in the state was diagnosed with COVID-19.

The state reported 909 deaths linked to the virus, which is up from Thursday's 854.