Gov. Ricketts begins to ease some restrictions

LINCOLN — Gov. Pete Ricketts Friday said he planned to relax restrictions put in place to reduce the spread of the coronavirus in Nebraska.

Beginning May 4, congregations across the state can again gather for church services but with rules to maintain social distancing guidelines.

Restaurants, barber shops and beauty salons will also be allowed to reopen with similar social distancing guidelines in place in 59 of the state’s 93 counties.

Ricketts said he will announce changes affecting Lincoln next week since it is operating under a different time frame of current restrictions that are not scheduled to end until May 6.

For worship services, including weddings and funerals, those in attendance will be expected to keep six feet of separation between members of different households and no items may be passed from person to person.

Dine-in restaurants will have a 50 percent capacity limitation with six feet of separation between different parties and no more than six people in any group.

In beauty salons and barber shops, masks will be required for workers and patrons.

Relaxing restrictions on restaurants, beauty salons and barber shops will be undertaken on a regional basis, with areas covered by 10 separate health departments the first to see the changes.

Restrictions were loosened in Omaha-area counties, including Douglas, Sarpy and Cass, as well as rural counties served by several health departments — Southeast, Northeast, Four Corners, East Central, Loup Basin, North Central, Southwest and Panhandle — where few cases have been reported.

Movie theaters statewide are to remain closed through May 31 under the rules announced Friday. Bars that do not serve food would continue to be limited to offsale and pickup only.

Ricketts loosened restrictions on child care centers, increasing the limit on the number of children in a room from 10 to 15 in identified counties.

Ricketts also announced a plan to accelerate coronavirus testing with the goal of 3,000 a day.

Stronger controls will remain in effect in the hot spots of coronavirus infection, including Hall, Dawson and Dakota counties.

The statewide directives will loosen restrictions for church gatherings and end the ban on elective surgery, dental procedures, vision services and veterinary procedures.

Ricketts said the state has begun training people to participate in the “contact tracing” phase of the battle to control the virus. Included will be 325 staff members from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

The goal is to engage 1,000 persons in the effort to interview people who have been in touch with individuals diagnosed with the virus.

Those interviews will be conducted by telephone in a conversational manner, DHHS Director Danette Smith said during the governor’s daily coronavirus news briefing.

Ricketts ends restriction on elective surgeries beginning May 4

Ricketts said 69,000 Nebraskans have registered so far to participate in the state’s new coronavirus testing initiative, providing information that will help determine who should be tested for possible infection by the virus based in large part on symptoms and personal contacts.

The governor said, he plans to continue to move forward with a “very incremental” approach. Each region will have its own set of guidelines to help control the spread.