By GRANT SCHULTE-Associated Press
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Nebraska will relax 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 will revert to fewer restrictions because the number of coronavirus patients in hospital beds has fallen below a seven-day average of 20% of those available by the end of Friday.
Hospitals will now be allowed to resume elective surgeries as long as they keep a minimum number of beds available.
Restrictions on indoor crowd sizes will ease as well, although state guidelines continue to advise social distancing. Masks in places such as salons and barbershops will no longer be 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 for now even though the numbers are still elevated.
State officials said 779 people were hospitalized with the virus as of Thursday evening, a number that has remained relatively unchanged over the last several days. The state reached a single-day high of 987 hospitalizations last month, raising the prospect of tougher social-distancing restrictions.
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.
Nebraska confirmed 1,850 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, a number that has been trending downward since the latest peak in the middle of November. The state reported 145,774 known cases and 1,329 deaths since the pandemic began.
The elevated numbers have raised concerns that hospitals could become overwhelmed with patients and lead to even more deaths. Most of the people who have died from the virus in Nebraska are elderly.
Nebraska still has 28% of its hospital beds, 26% of its intensive care unit beds and 70% of its ventilators available for virus patients.