Hughes gives state good marks for virus response

    For State Sen. Dan Hughes, Nebraska’s response to the coronavirus pandemic is a case of so far, so good.
    “I think they’ve done a good job,” Hughes said. “I think we’ve been probably more conscious [of the threat] than we probably needed to be, but until we have some data to base decisions on, we’ve erred on the side of caution.”
    If anything, he wishes the state could loosen restrictions more quickly as more is learned about the virus, he said.
    He said he had heard from a colleague that the virus now is believed to survive for a shorter time on surfaces, a factor that could have an effect on reopening. The CDC has also adjusted its guidelines to that effect.
    “People were letting their mail set for three days before they bring it in,” he said. “It was a good precaution, but proved to be unnecessary.”
    Hughes said he doesn’t know what he would do differently were he in charge of Nebraska.
    “I think Gov. Ricketts has done an excellent job. I think the media hype of this has certainly exacerbated the problem. Any time the federal government starts handing out money for the pandemic, it gets distorted. You add a presidential election year, I think it’s really been distorted,” he said.
    Nebraska’s relatively rural character helps, he said. “I have a niece who lives in New York City and it would be scary living there. But for us in western Nebraska, it’s been business as usual.”

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