Tuesday, April 14
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Today we have stories about Nebraska’s lagging Medicaid expansion that’s grown no more urgent during a global health crisis, police cracking down locally on people violating park closings and Sioux Falls, South Dakota, becoming a national hot spot for coronavirus transmission.
Your top local stories
As Nebraska deals with pandemic, Medicaid expansion still sluggish
- In a time when accessible health care is a necessity for most Americans, Nebraska is not accelerating its expansion of the national program to cover low-income people.
In Omaha
- The Omaha Police Department handed out 20 citations last weekend to people entering closed parks.
- The Omaha Public Power District has warned people to watch for utility scams.
- A longtime Dana College instructor in Blair died due to coronavirus.
- An Omaha funeral director is heading to New York City to help manage the extensive death toll caused by coronavirus.
- Nebraska Medicine is again calling on the community to help, this time by sewing masks out of provided materials.
- Not that traffic is booming downtown anyway, but Gene Leahy Mall work will lead to lane closures on Farnam and Douglas streets for the next month.
- As a pediatric care unit closes to make space for coronavirus patients, Omaha families are forced to adjust.
- One study shows that Nebraska will receive $378,000 per coronavirus patient while hard-hit New York will only receive $12,000. The disparity has to do with Medicaid billings as the federal government rushed to provide funds.
- Two state Senators want Gov. Pete Ricketts to lift restrictions and reopen businesses, saying “the cure is worse than the disease.” Ricketts resisted that call on his monthly radio show on Monday.
- A surge in coronavirus cases is testing the capacity of a Grand Island ICU.
- The Unicameral weighs coronavirus bills as one of many state legislatures across the nation kicked into high gear amid the pandemic.
- An outbreak at another Nebraska beef facility infected 10 with coronavirus in Hastings over the weekend.
- Gov. Ricketts to hold daily press briefing at 2 p.m.
What to do during quarantine?
From our list of things to do during quarantine
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What’s happening in the United States?
- After 300 people fell ill at a pork processing plant in Sioux Falls, the first-term Republican Governor, Kristi Noem said Monday the state was testing a controversial drug touted by Trump.
In New York, 1 in 100 people have contracted coronavirus
- The statistic illuminates further that New York is dealing with the world’s most severe concentration of the virus.
Anxiety from food producers and buyers as coronavirus continues to loom over U.S.
- From cattle ranchers to corn farmers to supermarket shoppers, the food supply chain in the United States has seen serious disruption due to coronavirus.
- As six states start to eye when they can ease restrictions, Trump said that the president has total authority over this issue, although many officials and experts say that’s a lie.
What’s happening across the world?
- Lockdowns continue in Europe despite signs spread is slowing as cases near 2 million globally
- Dashing early hopes that Europe would soon reopen, France and Italy extended their lockdowns into May.
Check out more coverage online at TheReader.com
The Omaha Reader