photo by: Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health

Douglas County moved into a less-severe level of community coronavirus transmission on Tuesday, but also added another death to its tally, according to the county’s latest COVID statistics update.

Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health’s latest data showed that the county has verified its 140th COVID death, a man between 75 and 84 years old. Meanwhile, the statistics that measure the community transmission status — the 14-day moving average daily case count and number of current active cases — have both dropped below the threshold to classify the county’s transmission risk as “medium.”

Specifically, Tuesday’s data shows that Douglas County’s average daily case count is 43.4 and the number of active cases is 967. Two people are currently hospitalized with COVID at LMH Health. In total, the county has seen 27,568 COVID cases since March 2020.

The health department continues to recommend that Douglas County residents follow updated Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance, and also encourages the public to get vaccinated. The Food and Drug Administration in late March approved a second booster dose for certain immunocompromised individuals and people age 50 and older who received an initial booster dose at least four months ago.

The health department administers vaccinations and booster doses at the clinic on the first floor of the Community Health Building, 200 Maine St., for adults and eligible children. They’ll also host a drive-thru booster clinic Friday from 1 to 4 p.m. at LMH Health. Those interested in registering can do so at ldchealth.org/getmyvaccine with the code “20220520.”