Lincoln Mayor Shares Key Factors For Easing Restrictions

Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird and the State are currently negotiating on whether Lincoln will start to open up or continue under current restrictions. The directed health measures for Lincoln (restrictions on restaurants, remote learning, etc) end on May 6 with parts of Nebraska starting to ease up May 4.

During Monday’s news conference, the Mayor explained criteria used to decide what will happen next for Lincoln. The five primary factors taken into consideration are:

Testing capacity
Number of daily cases
Positivity rate (percentage of people who take the test and are diagnosed positive for COVID-19)
Strength of local healthcare system
Local public health capacity (case investigations, contact tracing)

The Mayor described the easing of restrictions as gradual and done carefully.

“Think of the process not as an on and off switch, but instead like a dimmer switch. We won’t be flipping on a switch but rather we’ll be easing off the measures and practices in order to prevent flare ups that derail our progress on the road to recovery,” said Mayor Gaylor Baird.

She also mentioned that some social distancing would be necessary for high-risk individuals until a vaccine for COVID-19 is found.

The City of Lincoln reported 16 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday. Additional symptoms related to COVID-19 were published by the Center for Disease Control on Sunday. The expanded list now includes: