Nebraska Relaxes Restrictions After Virus Hospitalizations Dip
Nebraska relaxed its coronavirus restrictions Saturday after a recent decline in hospitalized patients, but state officials stressed that residents should still avoid crowded areas and confined spaces to keep the virus from spreading.
Gov. Pete Ricketts said Friday that the state would revert to fewer restrictions because the number of coronavirus patients in hospital beds had fallen below a seven-day average of 20% of those available by the end of Friday.
Hospitals now are allowed to resume elective surgeries as long as they keep a minimum number of beds available.
Restrictions on indoor crowd sizes eased as well, although state guidelines continue to advise social distancing. Masks in places such as salons and barbershops are no longer required but they are recommended, and many of the state’s largest cities still have local mandates in place.
Ricketts urged people to continue to avoid large gatherings and wear masks, although he hasn’t imposed a statewide mandate.
“We still have the virus in the community, we need to continue to practice all the rules we’ve been talking about with regard to the pandemic,” he said at a news conference.
The number of coronavirus patients in Nebraska’s hospitals appears to have stabilized, even though the numbers are still elevated. The state said 692 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 on Sunday, down from 711 the day before. That is the first time since Nov. 4 that the number of hospitalizations was below 700, but the total is still about triple what it was on Oct. 1.
Nebraska’s chief medical officer, Dr. Gary Anthone, said officials can see “a light at the end of the tunnel” with the pandemic but warned that the state is still in a precarious position.
“We’ve held down the fort now for almost nine months, and now we can see the cavalry coming” with expected vaccine shipments, he said. “Now is not the time to quit fighting.”
Mel McNea, the CEO of Great Plains Health in North Platte, said his hospital will continue to monitor bed space closely even if the state restrictions are relaxed. McNea said the hospital is still treating more urgent ailments, such as heart attacks and strokes.
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