Final Week of Governor’s “21 Days” Campaign

FREMONT – As we enter the final seven days of the Governor’s “21 Days to Stay Home and Stay Healthy” campaign, many are looking for answers as to what restrictions will end after the campaign is over.
In short, the end of the campaign won’t be mark the end to the Directed Health Measures for most of the state. Other than Cass, Douglas and Sarpy counties, whose initial DHMs do expire on April 30th, all other counties are under the state-level DHM until at least May 6th. The City of Fremont’s Community Directed Health Measure is also in effect through May 6th. Even for those three “early DHM” counties, an extension of that date is possible – no community should expect a complete lift of all restrictions at once.
“As we look forward to May, Nebraskans should be prepared for a phased approach to ease our social distancing restrictions,” said Governor Ricketts. “We’re not going to lift restrictions across the board, all at once.  We’ll evaluate the state by region, and gradually make data-informed changes as conditions allow.  I’m having ongoing conversations with our state’s mayors, industry associations, hospital leaders, public health departments, and others.  Input from these constituencies and communities will play a big role in the decisions we make in the weeks ahead.”
The first such restriction to be lifted will be the prohibition of elective surgeries. “The first step was announcing that elective surgeries can restart on May 4th,” said Ricketts. ” That means you can start seeing your dentist, eye doctor, veterinarian, and other physicians.”
Hospitals can restart their elective surgeries under specific requirements: they  must maintain 30% general bed availability, 30% ICU bed availability, 30% ventilator availability, and they must have a two-week supply of necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) in their specific facility – not in their network or care group.
“We’re winning the war on the virus, but it’s far from over,” Ricketts said. “I ask for your continued cooperation as we combat coronavirus and make plans to get our economy fully growing again.”
 
(Complete list of DHMs and their effective dates by county)