More than 100 people from Westridge Middle School are self-quarantined after they returned from a spring break trip to Washington D.C. and New York early Sunday.

As recommended by the Central District Health Department, those students, staff and parents who went on the trip will be isolated at home for 14 days.

This is something the CDHD recommends for anyone who's traveled to New York, California and Washington. It's meant to help stop the spread of COVID-19, and allows the health department to monitor anyone who's possibly been exposed to the virus.

People self-quarantined are asked to take their temperatures twice a day. Someone from the CDHD will contact them once a day to ask how they're doing, and to see if any symptoms develop.

"We know this is a serious, serious, serious situation," said Teresa Anderson, the health director at the Central District Health Department. "If our community works together we can keep our numbers small, and that's what we're trying to do."

Including the people from Westridge, there are now 150 people self-quarantined across Hall, Hamilton and Merrick Counties.

According to the Department of Health and Human services, there are 17 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Nebraska. There are no positive cases in Central Nebraska.

The CDHD is testing a few people for the virus. Those results are pending.

"We want everyone to be hyper-vigilant with cleaning and sanitizing surfaces, whether they have a child quarantined or not, we really want people to be very careful," Anderson said. That will help reduce the spread. Again, it's all about reducing the spread."

Anderson said there's no community transmission in Central Nebraska, but the CDHD anticipates it'll hit the area in the near future.

When that happens, guidelines will change. The size of events and public gatherings will be limited to 20 to 50 people; events may need to be canceled or postponed; businesses and workplaces should review policies and practices to create distance between employees; and everyone should practice social distancing.

Anderson said if you've traveled to an area with high spread of the virus, you should call your local health department.

If you live in Hall, Hamilton or Merrick Counties you can call the CDHD at 308-385-5175.