Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman delivers her State of the City address at City Hall, Thursday Jan 9, 2020.
Published Wednesday, April 15, 2020 | 10:37 a.m.
Updated Wednesday, April 15, 2020 | 11:21 a.m.
Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman again implored the governor to allow businesses to reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic, saying today the shutdown is “killing” the economy.
Goodman, who earlier compared the virus to the common flu, also questioned whether there was data to support the shutdown and downplayed the number of virus-related deaths.
Goodman expressed condolences over the 130 coronavirus deaths in Nevada, but she emphasized the patients died from complications attributed “in part” to COVID-19. The number of deaths should not warrant such drastic measures, she said.
“Those whom we’ve lost represent less than a half of 1% of our population, which has caused us to shut down our entire state and everything that makes Nevada unique,” Goodman said.
Under Gov. Steve Sisolak’s order, all nonessential businesses – including casinos, hotels, restaurants and bars – must remain closed through at least April 30. Nevada is one of at least 46 states plus the District of Columbia to have shut down most businesses and schools at the advice of health experts to help slow the spread of the virus, prevent hospitals from reaching capacity and save lives.
As of Tuesday, 3,088 Nevadans have tested positive for coronavirus, with 2,559 patients living in Clark County, according to the Southern Nevada Health District. A vast majority of virus-related deaths have also been in the Las Vegas area.
Last month, less than a week after Sisolak called for the shutdown, Goodman characterized his decision as a threat to the Las Vegas economy and downplayed the severity of the virus.
She compared it to other disease outbreaks and the common flu, suggesting health officials were overestimating its deadliness.
At today’s City Council meeting, Goodman stressed the economic toll that the shutdown has taken on the state and on Southern Nevada, which has the majority of Nevada’s population.
“900,000 have lost jobs. 300,000 have already filed for unemployment,” Goodman said. “These are families that no longer have the ability to buy food for their children and other loved ones.”
Without a plan in place for how and when to reopen the economy, Goodman said, the shutdown “makes no sense.” She also questioned whether it was backed up by data.
“From my perspective, we must open our city, we must open Southern Nevada and we must open the state of Nevada,” she said.
Many health experts have warned against reopening the economy too early, saying it could lead to more preventable deaths.
Not all council members agreed with Goodman's push to quickly lift business restrictions.
Ward 5 Councilman Cedric Crear said that although his two small businesses have suffered during the shutdown, the economy should not be a reason to ignore the advice of health officials.
Crear said Clark County and Nevada would have more COVID-19 cases if businesses had stayed open and people not followed the governor’s stay-at-home order.
“One death is just too many, and I think as we get more testing into the market, we’re going to realize there are more people who are infected,” he said.
Crear also shared that an aunt of his recently died from COVID-19 in New Orleans.
“Maybe people haven’t had it hit home directly, but our family is suffering, and because of COVID-19, we’re not able to properly give her the send-off she’s deserving of,” Crear said.
