Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak responds to question from a reporter during a visit to the Horizon Ridge Wellness Clinic on East Flamingo Road Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021. The visit was part of Protect Nevadas Future week of action, a statewide effort to vaccinate children ages 5 to 11 years against COVID-19 from Dec. 18 to 23.
Published Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022 | 10:06 a.m.
Updated Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022 | 11:40 a.m.
Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak today announced an immediate end to the state’s mask mandate, citing a downward trend in coronavirus cases.
Masks will no longer be required in public places, including schools and prisons, Sisolak said. They are still required, however, in some high-risk settings, such as hospitals and nursing homes, he said.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board issued a notice to licensees saying masks were no longer required in casinos, unless a local jurisdiction requires them.
“I’m hopeful that we’re in a good position to drop this, to give people back some freedom,” Sisolak said. “Everyone wants to get back to their normal life, whatever normal is. It’s been two years. So, I think the time has come, and I’m confident that we’ve analyzed the appropriate data and we’ve made the right decision.”
In making his announcement, Sisolak cited a decline in overall COVID cases, hospitalizations and the amount of virus detected during wastewater testing. At the height of the omicron variant surge on Jan. 10, Nevada recorded 7,865 new cases; that number has declined to about 1,280 in recent days.
"I’m hopeful that we’ll continue that downward trend," Sisolak said. "I’m hopeful that this will not cause an increase in hospitalizations as we move forward."
Businesses and other entities, including school districts, will be able to decide on their own whether to voluntarily continue requiring masks.
The Clark County School District said it would drop the mask mandate beginning at the end of school today, though masks will still be required on buses. "Because COVID-19 continues, students and employees of CCSD can make the individual choice to continue masking," the district said.
Clark County Education Association president Marie Neisess said union members are on both sides of the mask divide.
“Some are very adamant they want to keep wearing them,” she said. “Some can’t wait for them to be gone.”
Vicki Kreidel, a second-grade teacher at Heard Elementary in Las Vegas and president of the National Education Association of Southern Nevada, said that if CCSD agrees it’s safe to ditch face coverings, she’s fine with relaxed rules.
She said her students are generally compliant, but policing young children’s mask-wearing is still stressful.
Kreidel said she has autoimmune conditions so she plans to keep wearing a mask, and she expects some students will too. "But it will be a relief to not have to worry about the masks,” she said.
Business groups have pushed Sisolak to remove the mandate.
The National Federation of Independent Business, an association of small business owners, sent a letter to Sisolak on Wednesday saying the mandate was making it difficult to hire and retain workers.
“Some of the reasons workers cite for quitting is having to wear a mask at work for hours, having to continually ask customers to put on a mask, and getting harassed by customers who refuse to put on a mask,” Randi Thompson, the federation’s state director, said in the letter.
Nevada had the second highest quit rate in the nation in 2021 at 3.8%, according to an analysis from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Mask mandates have been a political football, but Sisolak, who is up for reelection in November, insisted that today's decision was not politically motivated.
“I’m doing what I think is best to protect the health and welfare of the residents of Nevada," he said. "My decision is based on science, not politics.”
Nevada Republican U.S. Senate candidate Adam Laxalt issued a statement accusing Democrats of changing their tune on masks to help them win reelection.
"Let's be clear, there’s absolutely no science behind this decision other than political science, and this useless mandate should've never been in place to begin with," Laxalt said.
Sisolak's announcement follows recent moves by several other states to lift mask mandates, including California, New York and Illinois. They all left the mandate in place for schools.
The CDC’s mask guidance has not been updated since Jan. 21. It still recommends everyone wear a mask indoors in public if they are in an area of substantial or high transmission.
Las Vegas Sun reporter Hillary Davis contributed to this report.
