Some Nebraska businesses will be able to open back up in the coming weeks.
At Governor Pete Rickett's Friday afternoon COVID-19 coronavirus update, he announced that he will be rolling out a new set of Directed Health Measures that will allow restaurants, houses of worship, barber shops and salons, among other businesses, to reopen.
Ricketts says previous DHMs that were originally set to expire on April 30th will be extended to May 4th. "Then we are going to issue 19 new DHMs based on each health district."
The Governor says a statewide DHM starting May 4th will allow religious services, funerals and weddings to no longer follow the ten person social gathering limit, as long as certain guidelines are followed. Members of the same household will be allowed to sit together, but must still stay six feet away from congregants of other households. There will also be no passing of items between congregants, such as collection plates. Religious leaders across the state will create more guidelines, that go in to greater detail, before May 4th.
Earlier this week, Ricketts announced that hospitals and other medical facilities statewide will be allowed to perform elective surgeries beginning May 4th, as long as they have qualifying amounts of personal protective equipment (PPE) and enough hospital and ICU bed capacity.
Also beginning May 4th, restaurants in designated areas will be allowed to have up to 50% of their maximum capacity in dining rooms. Diners must still follow the six-foot rule and a maximum of six people will be allowed per party. All restaurant staff will also be required to wear masks. Restaurants with bar seating will not be allowed to serve customers at the bar. Customers at restaurants will also not be allowed to drink alcohol without also ordering and consuming a meal.
Cities and town allowed to reopen businesses are in the following health districts:
- Douglas County Health Dept.
- Sarpy/Cass Dept. of Health
- East Central District Health Dept.
- Four Corners Health Dept.
- Loup Basin Public Health Dept.
- North Central District Health Dept.
- Northeast Nebraska Public Health Dept.
- Panhandle Public Health District
- Southeast District Health Dept.
- oSouthwest Nebraska Public Health District
Bars, taverns and clubs will still be ordered to stay closed, except for delivery and to-go services, through May 31st.
Barbershops, salons, tattoo parlors and massage therapy businesses in these areas will also be able to reopen as well, but they must abide by the ten person limit and social distancing guidelines. In addition, customers and staff at these businesses must wear masks.
Ricketts was asked why DHMs were being relaxed if the state has not hit the peak of the pandemic yet. He said models based on data are not predictive and the healthcare system in the state is not being overwhelmed.
Once restaurants are open, Ricketts said people should be their own judge of the risks -- if they are part of the at-risk population, don't go out. "Certainly we have areas of hot spots we need to manage. On a whole, Nebraska is doing very well in regard to the things we have put in place to slow the spread of the virus in this state."