Governor Pete Ricketts announced that he will be rolling back some of the restrictions put in place by his Directed Health Measures (DHM).
During his daily COVID-19 media briefing on Monday, Ricketts announced that starting on May 4th, hospitals will be allowed to do elective surgeries again.
Ricketts says in order to begin elective procedures again, hospitals must have at least 30% of their hospital and ICU beds open and 30% of ventilators ready to use. Medical facilities will also be required to have two weeks worth of PPE before resuming elective surgeries. "Just because we say it's elective surgery does not mean it is unnecessary. It just means that it was planned," Ricketts added.
The Governor also pointed out that elective surgery is an important revenue for hospitals to stay in business and to continue caring for patients, including those diagnosed with COVID-19.
Dentists, eye doctors and veterinarians will also be allowed to begin performing elective surgeries May 4th as well.