For those bashing New Jersey and New York over the early outbreak of Covid-19 rampaging through convalescent homes:

Nearly half of Nebraska’s COVID-19 deaths come from nursing homes; tracking the deadliest outbreaks (Scottsbluff, Nebr. Star-Herald)

Gov. Pete Ricketts and state health officials for months have rejected calls to release the names of Nebraska nursing homes with COVID-19 outbreaks, offering only statewide aggregate numbers of cases and deaths in long-term care facilities.

But the World-Herald recently mined a federal database to reveal COVID-19’s toll on Nebraska’s 200-plus nursing homes and their 11,500 residents.

In all, through Sept. 6, 31 homes have reported fatal outbreaks, totaling 185 deaths. That’s approaching half the state’s total death count of 400-plus, underscoring the critical need to protect nursing home residents.

Nine homes had 10 or more deaths, including five in Douglas County. In Grand Island, one home saw 20 resident deaths.

And up until now, the vast majority of the deadly outbreaks have never been publicly disclosed.

Gov. Ricketts has been one of the Republicans bashing Gov. Cuomo over nursing home deaths. Now we know why he’s been so resistant about releasing those numbers. The percentage here is even higher.