Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) on Friday announced restaurants and several other businesses are allowed to restart operations on May 4 if they follow public health guidelines.
Ricketts said in a press conference that restaurants can have up to 50 percent of their maximum capacity, but they must ensure customers are sitting six feet apart from one another and all staff must wear face coverings. Barbershops, salons, and tattoo parlors will also be allowed to reopen, as long as they follow a 10-person social gathering limit. Additionally, religious services and weddings will be allowed to take place without a 10-person limit. However, bars will remain shuttered until May 31.
“Certainly, we have areas of hotspots we need to manage,” Ricketts said of his state’s plan to partially reopen. “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.”
As of Friday, Nebraska has 1,722 coronavirus cases and 39 deaths, according to data tracked by Johns Hopkins University.
Georgia and Oklahoma are going ahead with plans to allow some non-essential businesses to reopen Friday under relaxed coronavirus-related restrictions.
All non-essential businesses in all 50 states have been closed for weeks as a measure to stem the spread of COVID-19. Most states have begun to plan strategies to reopen, and some will start in the next few days.
UPI contributed to this report.