WHAT’S THE BIG SECRET?

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts Hides Names of COVID-Infected Nursing Homes

Advocates have asked him to identified the facilities to protect the people who live and work there.

Hundreds of residents and workers at Nebraska nursing homes have tested positive for COVID-19—but Gov. Pete Ricketts is refusing to identify the affected facilities. The local AARP director told the Omaha World-Herald the names are needed to protect people’s health, especially when two out of three deaths in the state are tied to long-term care centers. “Greater transparency is a key tool in this fight,” Todd Stubbendieck told the newspaper. But Ricketts is releasing only the total number of cases—455 as of last week—saying he doesn’t have permission to give out names and that families should just ask themselves. Ricketts never issued a stay-at-home order for Nebraska and has started reopening, even though numbers continue to rise in several hotspots.