Declining hospitalizations prompt Ricketts to relax COVID-19 restrictions [View all]

Gov. Pete Ricketts said Friday that he will relax some COVID-19 restrictions in the state because the number of open hospital beds has increased.

Ricketts has created a formula that adjusts directed health measure restrictions in the state based on the percentage of COVID-19 patients occupying the state's hospital beds.

That rolling average has fallen beneath 20% over the past seven days, automatically triggering an easing of previously instituted restrictions as Nebraska moves from the orange level to the yellow level.

In the past month, the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in Nebraska has fallen from a record high of 987 on Nov. 20 to 779 as of Thursday, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

Read more: https://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/watch-now-declining-hospitalizations-prompt-ricketts-to-relax-covid-19-restrictions/article_9e3394e2-5cd5-590f-843e-f111235af979.html
(Lincoln Journal Star)