OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Gov. Pete Ricketts has announced an end to restrictions that have kept hospitals from being overwhelmed with patients during the coronavirus pandemic.&nbsp; Ricketts said Thursday that facilities can resume lower-priority surgeries starting Friday.&nbsp; The restrictions had been set to expire at the end of the month. The order applied to inpatient Class D and E elective surgeries for all acute care, critical care and children’s hospitals in Nebraska.&nbsp; Class D and E surgeries are elective procedures that can wait four weeks or longer without substantially changing a patient’s outcome.&nbsp; Ricketts said he rescinded the restrictions because coronavirus hospitalizations have fallen below 10% of statewide hospital bed capacity.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Gov. Pete Ricketts has announced an end to restrictions that have kept hospitals from being overwhelmed with patients during the coronavirus pandemic.&nbsp; Ricketts said Thursday that facilities can resume lower-priority surgeries starting Friday.&nbsp; The restrictions had been set to expire at the end of the month. The order applied to inpatient Class D and E elective surgeries for all acute care, critical care and children’s hospitals in Nebraska.&nbsp; Class D and E surgeries are elective procedures that can wait four weeks or longer without substantially changing a patient’s outcome.&nbsp; Ricketts said he rescinded the restrictions because coronavirus hospitalizations have fallen below 10% of statewide hospital bed capacity.

Ricketts rescinds hospital restrictions as capacity improves