Lincoln – When Nebraska begins to lift social distancing restrictions, it will do so gradually to prevent another surge in coronavirus cases, Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts said last Wednesday.

Ricketts said he still hopes to lift some restrictions at the beginning of May, but he plans to take a cautious approach so that public health officials have time to see whether it’s causing cases to spike. For instance, he said the state’s ban on gatherings of more than 10 people may first be loosened to allow for groups of 20 or 25 people before it’s eliminated.

“It would be something along those sorts of lines,” Ricketts said at a news conference at the Capitol. “Reopening sit-down restaurants and bars may be a part of that as well, too. As we get into this toward the end of the month, we’ll be re-evaluating where we are with regard to where the virus is and making those decisions.”

Ricketts and public health officials are trying to avoid a flare-up of the coronavirus that could overwhelm the state’s hospitals with sick patients. The Republican governor has issued an array of restrictions on public gatherings, such as forcing schools to close and limiting restaurants and bars to takeout, delivery or carryout services. While he hasn’t issued a formal stay-at-home order, Nebraska’s restrictions are similar.

Nebraska and the rest of the world won’t return to a “true normal” until public health officials find a vaccine for the virus, said Dr. James Lawler, a University of Nebraska Medical Center infectious disease expert who advised Ricketts on the state’s response to the pandemic.

Lawler said in an interview that Nebraska doesn’t appear to be as hard-hit as other states, largely because state officials had more time to react with school closures and crowd restrictions than larger states such as New York. But he warned that the situation could change quickly, and “there’s a lot of room for improvement” in how well Nebraska residents have followed the restrictions.

“The data that I can see overall are encouraging,” Lawler said. “But we still don’t have widespread community testing available and we don’t have great visibility of disease prevalence in the community.”