COVID-19 update

By Signal Staff

Readers will notice an obituary printed on page 4A in this edition about a longtime Shickley resident who unfortunately, allegedly passed away due to complications with the coronavirus. This obituary was written by the family and submitted to the Farmer & Son Funeral Home in Geneva, according to a co-owner of the local funeral home.
According to sources with knowledge of the situation, David Stolzenburg experienced complications due to a knee surgery that required hospitalization. He also spent time at a local nursing care facility and eventually was transported to a hospital in Lincoln. After a surgical procedure to try and correct the situation, sources note that Stolzenburg was transported to a Lincoln rehabilitation facility. It is here where he allegedly contracted COVID-19. After experiencing more health complications, he was transferred to the St. Elizabeth Regional Health Center in Lincoln, where reports indicate he passed away at age 75.
Solid knowledgeable sources also indicate that the longtime science teacher never returned to his home after allegedly contracting the coronavirus. This newspaper has made several calls to Public Health Solutions (PHS) officials in Crete to see if this indeed a COVID-19 case and if Stolzenburg’s death would be attributed to Fillmore County, since he was resident here, as a coronavirus-related death. As of press-time, no determination has been made by PHS. The death, if COVID-19 related, could also be (been) added to the Lancaster County total.
Over the weekend, PHS reported 35 new coronavirus cases in Saline County and one new case in Fillmore County. This would make 534 total cases in the five-county PHS health district—478 in Saline County; 44 in Gage County; six in both Jefferson and Fillmore Counties and none in Thayer County. Statewide, there are 11,989 reported COVID-19 cases with 61 percent of these occurring in five counties—Douglas, Dakota, Hall, Lancaster and Dawson counties. Nebraska officials have reported 147 coronavirus-related deaths in the Cornhusker State with 64 percent happening in the top five counties—Hall (39); Douglas (23); Dakota (13); Adams (11) and Hamilton (eight).