OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Nebraska could soon eliminate all of its virus-related restrictions on gatherings if the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 continues to decline even though few people in the state have been vaccinated for the coronavirus.
State health officials said the restrictions could be lifted this weekend if virus patients continue to occupy fewer than 10% of the Nebraska's hospital beds. As of Wednesday, about 8% of the state's hospital beds were occupied by COVID-19 patients and the number of people hospitalized with the disease had declined to 343.
The state adjusts the rules, which are designed to preserve hospital capacity, when hospitalizations remain below a certain level for seven days on average. The number of people hospitalized with the virus in Nebraska has been steadily declining since the November peak of 987, although it is still higher than it was at the start of October, when 227 people were hospitalized.
The main restriction that could be lifted this weekend is the state's 75% capacity limit on indoor gatherings. Guidelines recommending that seating at bars and restaurants be limited to groups of no more than eight people, that different families be seated six feet apart at churches and that customers wear masks at salons would also be eliminated.
Even though the state might lift its restrictions, its chief medical officer, Dr. Gary Anthone, emphasized that it is still important for Nebraskans to continue wearing masks and avoid crowded places while the state works to vaccinate more people. The state does not require masks, but more than a dozen of its cities do.
"We're still in the early days of this vaccination effort and so it's critical we continue to limit virus spread," Anthone said. "Wearing a mask, washing hands, and staying home when you're sick are the best tools to fight against COVID-19."
The state has administered 153,231 of the 248,741 doses of the vaccine it has received and roughly 2% of the Nebraska's population has received both required doses. Officials said Thursday that the state's allocation of the vaccine for next week increased by nearly 4,000 doses, which will help the vaccination effort.
Officials said that by the end of this week, all 90,000 of Nebraska's health care workers will have had the chance to get vaccinated, and more than 26,000 health care workers will have received their second doses.
Residents and staff at the state's 455 long-term care facilities have also received their first vaccine doses.
In most parts of the state, health officials have moved on to the next phase of the vaccine campaign and started inoculating people age 65 or older. The state launched a website Thursday, https://vaccinate.ne.gov/, where Nebraskans can register to be notified when they are eligible to receive the vaccine.
Nebraska reported 662 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and 12 more deaths on Wednesday, pushing its pandemic totals to 188,784 cases and 1,917 deaths.
The state has gone from having the fifth-highest rate of new virus cases in the nation in early December to ranking 36st Wednesday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Nebraska declined over the past two weeks from about 948 new cases per day on Jan. 13 to about 686 new cases per day as of Wednesday.