Nebraska Lt. Governor Mike Foley doesn’t expect all churches and places of worship to reopen when a new directed health measure allows them to starting on Monday. Foley has led the state’s plan to reopen churches starting May 4th, but says many church leaders plan to wait awhile before they begin in-person services again.
“A more gradual reopening is probably a very prudent thing to do,” Foley said. “Let’s see how this goes for the first few weeks and then work our way through this and get the bugs out of the system, so to speak, and then maybe a more broad reopening as time goes on.”
Foley is not concerned about reopening while the state sees increasing COVID-19 cases. He said health officials expected to see more cases as testing has increased and it shouldn’t prevent churches from reopening. He expects churches in different areas of the state to reopen differently.
“If you’re in downtown Grand Island, you might be a little bit more reluctant about reopening, but if you’re Broken Bow, Nebraska, you may be ready to do it tomorrow morning,” he said. “So it’s quite a variety.”
Churches and other places of worship will have to follow social-distancing guidelines and most churches won’t have hymnals or offering plates available at first.