Map Showing Nebraska COVID Numbers Misleading

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska currently appears relatively safe on some national websites tracking the spread of COVID-19, but state health officials say those maps aren’t accurate.

The problem is that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been using different data for Nebraska since the state retired its website that reported virus figures daily and started reporting updates weekly with fewer details. So two-thirds of Nebraska’s counties shouldn’t be colored blue on the CDC map indicating low COVID-19 transmission rates, at a time when cases are surging statewide.

“The color blue on the map may not be an accurate representation of transmission rates,” said Olga Dack, a spokeswoman for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.