John Locher / Associated Press
In this July 10, 2020, file photo, Derrick Henninger works at Velveteen Rabbit, a cocktail bar in the Las Vegas Arts District, on the last night before they will have to close in Las Vegas. A Nevada judge says she wants proof she would have the authority to order the governor to rescind a coronavirus pandemic directive and let Las Vegas-area bars and taverns reopen. Judge Kerry Earley in Las Vegas made no immediate ruling Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020 after arguments about whether she should force Gov. Steve Sisolak to lift a bar closure order he re-imposed July 27.
Published Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020 | 10:02 a.m.
Updated Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020 | 6:34 p.m.
Las Vegas bars and taverns might be allowed to reopen Thursday at midnight, even though a Nevada judge decided not to force Gov. Steve Sisolak to lift a coronavirus closure order, an attorney who sued the state said Tuesday.
Attorney Dennis Kennedy pointed to a directive the governor issued last Friday that would allow an earlier closure order to expire unless a coronavirus task force extends the restrictions based on its assessment of Clark County's case load.
The task force meets Thursday, just hours before restrictions would expire.
“You can be sure the bar owners are going to be there to say, ‘We’re ready to go and we’ll comply with all the laws,’” Kennedy told The Associated Press. “They’re ready to open.”
Sisolak's directive lifts restrictions and would let bars revert to earlier business restrictions that went into effect May 29.
The governor's office did not immediately respond to messages about the bar restrictions directive.
It says bars, breweries, distilleries and wineries that don’t serve food can open at 50% capacity if all employees wear face coverings and table-service customers sit 6 feet apart. Patrons can sit at the bar if seats are similarly spaced.
Clark County District Judge Kerry Earley's order late Monday said the governor, a Democrat, was within his power to close bars.
Kennedy had argued last week that the closures violated constitutional rights to equal protection and due process for his 62 clients, hurt hundreds of similar businesses, and unfairly put thousands of employees out of work.
Most bar businesses hold restricted state gambling licenses allowing 15 or fewer slot machines, the attorney said, and most need revenue from bar-top video gambling machines that have been off-limits due to the governor’s July 27 order.
The machines typically offer poker, blackjack and keno games. Some bars and taverns have in recent weeks moved the devices to cabinets away from bar tops.
The judge noted that Nevada’s virus mitigation measures are evolving, and the governor has several times modified the emergency order he first invoked March 12.
Earley pointed to Sisolak’s comment on July 27 that "in hindsight closing all bars was not the fairest way to do it.”
Bars closed in March and remained shuttered for 48 days before being allowed to reopen June 30. Bars in and around Las Vegas and Reno were ordered closed again July 27 after coronavirus cases spiked in those areas.
Meanwhile, casinos statewide were permitted to reopen June 4 and remain open.
Sisolak recently promised a narrower focus but tougher enforcement of mask-wearing and social distancing rules statewide, with punishment for violators based on updated daily data. The new enforcement measures will focus on specific businesses tied to outbreaks instead of broad industry categories.
State health officials on Tuesday reported 672 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Nevada, bringing the total count to 62,639. Statewide, the death toll reached at least 1,102.
About 54,000 of Nevada's cases and 937 deaths — or 85% of statewide fatalities — have been in the Las Vegas area, the Southern Nevada Health District said.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. But some older adults and people with existing health problems can face severe illness including pneumonia and death. The vast majority of people recover.
