Tuesday, May 26
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The Reader music editor B.J. Huchtemann shares what her life’s been like during the pandemic, how she’s coping and where she looks for hope.
View our guide to local resources at TheReader.com
Good morning,
Today we have stories about ways you can spend your summer under new relaxed restrictions, COVID-19 patients taking up more space in hospitals and the improbable search for the United States’ patient zero as the country nears 100,000 official deaths from the virus.
Your Top Local Stories
Check out an interactive version of this map on our website.
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In Omaha
- Nebraska Medicine reported that COVID-19 inpatients are on the rise and at an all-time high.
- The city of Omaha is considering a second year of a pilot program for rented electric scooters, weighing new rules like age restrictions and $100 fines for riding on the sidewalk.
- South Omaha testing will resume today and operate through Saturday.
- Feel-good moments through the pandemic: Check out an Omaha World-Herald timeline to see moments of levity and hope in their coverage going back to March 21.
- For nearly half a decade, an 87-year-old Omaha woman has decorated the graves of friends and family who may otherwise be forgotten.
- Local veterans honored the fallen at Memorial Park yesterday.
- Many military families have had to lay their loved ones to rest without honors and public gatherings usually afforded veterans due to the pandemic.
- The historic Benson Theatre will get a $3.3 million renovation with live performances possibly coming back in the Spring 2021.
- The city had its 12th homicide over the weekend after a man died from a gunshot in an alleyway in South Omaha. His family gathered seeking justice for the man’s death.
- As restrictions are lifted on theaters, owners are prepping to keep moviegoers socially distanced and safe.
- A band is performing on their front porch in Dundee, workshopping new songs and sometimes drawing a small crowd.
- With many other Memorial Day activities off limits, restaurants saw customers as they balanced safety and business.
- At an Elkhorn nursing home where COVID-19 spread to nearly every person there, one resident’s health took a quick downturn her friend said.
- With many things on hold or restricted during the pandemic, one Omaha mom has used her blog to suggest summertime activities for kids.
- Fontenelle Forest will start offering virtual summer camps.
Around the State
- A Nebraska state senator from Columbus has been hospitalized with COVID-19.
- Traveling, camping, zoo trips, movies, the pool: what is summer fun starting to look like as health measures continue getting lifted.
- Though Nebraska suffers harsh unemployment, it’s numbers are still the third-lowest in the country.
- A top doctor at Nebraska Medicine has voiced concern that hospitals may be slowly filling up even as the rate of cases decreases.
- Though the state is allowing people to practice faith in person, some are still waiting to bring people back to the pews.
- NET Nebraska is answering listener questions about unemployment benefits as many are still having trouble applying for or receiving their checks.
- Bars will reopen next Monday with restrictions, but owners say it’s better than nothing.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released guidelines for schools reopening, but the head of Nebraska’s teacher’s union said the state’s educators are taking their cues from the state’s Department of Education and Nebraska Medicine.
- Another Nebraska Department of Correctional Services worker has tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the number of confirmed cases among staff to 11.
What to do during quarantine?
From our list of things to do during quarantine:
Explore Live Music Online
A number of artists are already taking to their Facebook pages to host an easy, DIY Facebook Live concert from their homes. Venmo and PayPal tip jars are available if you can afford to pitch in. Performing live music and engaging in some shared community is uplifting. Look for your favorites on social media.
What’s Happening In The United States?
An Incalculable Loss
- The New York Times compiled some of the obituaries from the nearly 100,000 people who’ve died from COVID-19, adding some humanity to an almost incomprehensible number.
Meatpacking Industry Struggling to Regain Footing
- Despite implementing protections, the meatpacking industry is still struggling with the spread of COVID-19.
- Though California acted fast and kept infections down, unemployment in the country’s most populous state is well above the national average and many of its industries are hemorrhaging money.
- Researchers are trying to pinpoint where the virus started in the United States, but doing so is nearly impossible as COVID-19 likely arrived long before the virus even had a name.
What’s Happening Across The World?
Tracking Apps May Outlast Pandemic in China
- As the pandemic began to spread, the Chinese government started tracking people’s movements through their smartphones. Now, even though the pandemic has mostly passed there, those apps are inching toward becoming permanent fixtures.
Omaha, NE 68107