Nebraska to lift distancing mandates
Hospital capacity looks OK, state officials say
LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts will end nearly all of his state’s social-distancing restrictions on Monday even as the number of new coronavirus cases has trended upward over the past few months.
The new rules still will limit the size of large indoor gatherings, such as concerts, meeting halls and theaters, but will drop all other state-imposed mandates for voluntary guidelines.
“We are loosening the restrictions further on Sept. 14,” Ricketts said at a news conference.
State officials said they made the decision based on the availability of hospital beds and ventilators, in keeping with the Republican governor’s goal of not overwhelming medical facilities.
“The goal has always been to protect hospital capacity, and capacity remains stable,” Ricketts spokesman
Taylor Gage said.
Nebraska’s hospitals have 36 percent of their regular beds, 31 percent of their intensive care unit beds and 81 percent of their ventilators available, according to the state’s online tracking portal. Those numbers have changed little in the past few months.
Meanwhile, claims for unemployment benefits in Oklahoma are declining after reaching record levels during the coronavirus pandemic, the state Employment Security Commission reported Thursday.
The number of reported coronavirus cases in Oklahoma surpassed 66,000 on Thursday, and 13 more people have died because of COVID-19, according to the Oklahoma State Department of Health. In other developments:
■ California’s typical turnaround time for coronavirus tests has dropped to less than two days, state health officials said Thursday, a mark that allows for effective isolation and quarantine of those who are infected to limit the spread.
■ A megachurch that defied a ban on indoor worship designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus was ordered Thursday to immediately halt such services. Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff issued a preliminary injunction sought by Los Angeles County health officials, who argued that Grace Community Church was putting people at risk of COVID-19 infection by staging indoor services with throngs of people who didn’t use masks or practice social distancing.
■ Arizona officials warned Thursday that children and teens are at risk of suicide as depression increases during the COVID-19 pandemic. Counseling resources are available to help struggling children, even as schools hold classes online, Gov. Doug Ducey said at a high school in Chandler.
■ Puerto Rico’s governor on Thursday announced she would reopen beaches, casinos, gyms and movie theaters across the U.S. territory as officials report a recent drop in COVID-19 cases and deaths.