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Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak speaks during a press conference to address the reopening of the state, Thursday, April, 30, 2020.
Published Thursday, April 30, 2020 | 5:20 p.m.
Updated Thursday, April 30, 2020 | 10:30 p.m.
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Gov. Steve Sisolak, acknowledging Nevadans' urge to return to their normal lifestyles, is loosening some of the restrictions he put in place more than six weeks ago to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
During a news conference Thursday afternoon, Sisolak said the shutdown of most nonessential businesses — including Nevada's resorts and casinos — would remain in place for at least the next two weeks. But the governor said he would lift restrictions on some curbside retail businesses and drive-up church services, while also allowing golf courses and tennis courts to reopen.
“I know how most Nevadans are feeling right now,” Sisolak said. “The fog feels like it’s clearing away and many of you are probably asking why you’re sitting at home … why are schools closed? Why can’t you grab a beer with your buddies or go to a game with your family. I get it. Because we’ve done a good job, the threat of COVID-19 feels distant and abstract — to many, it might not feel as scary anymore.”
Yet the coronavirus continues to be a threat to Nevadans, and stay-at-home orders will remain in place through May 15, which is when the state enters the “Battle Born Beginning” stage of the pandemic recovery, also known as “Phase 1,” Sisolak announced.
“I have the unfortunate responsibility to remind all of us that the threat remains real,” he said.
This initial two- to three-week phase would include the reopening of some outdoor spaces and small businesses, such as standalone retail shops, but under strict social distancing precautions, Sisolak said. Dine-in restaurants and personal care services will be considered for reopening.
The Nevada Restaurant Association and the Nevada State Board of Cosmetology will be tasked with pitching reopening plans, Sisolak said.
“I want to open up all of these businesses, but it’s not business as normal. You can no longer have 24 people in a 500-square-foot salon getting their hair cut or their nails done,” he said. “It’s simply not going to work, so they have to come up with a plan to move forward in a safe and reasonable manner.”
Social gatherings will still be capped at 10, and face coverings would be required for indoor commerce.
Casinos, bars, nightclubs, gyms and malls will remain closed in this next phase, and large sporting events, concerts and in-person worshiping will continue to be banned.
“I know we are all looking forward to these opening up, but due to the density and risk, we will be unable to do so in Phase 1,” Sisolak said, noting that he didn’t yet know how many phases there ultimately would be.
The state would move into a new phase every two to three weeks as long as there isn’t an increase of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths, Sisolak said. A hike would pause the process in the return to "the new normal."
Sisolak’s decision to move into the first step of recovery coincided with a drop in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations, which peaked Friday in Nevada; a hospital system that sustained the surge; an ongoing effort to ramp up testing and tracing; and a “sustained ability to protect vulnerable populations.”
The governor acknowledged that there is “nowhere near enough” personnel to conduct contact tracing. “We’ve never had a pandemic like this that requires so much contact tracing,” he said, noting that his office was working with industries with “call-center-type employees” to train them on the craft.
As of Thursday, Nevada's medical system has the capability to test all symptomatic patients for the novel virus, and Sisolak said the state and its partners were working to increase that coverage to asymptomatic persons as well.
The COVID-19 death toll Thursday stood at 243 in Nevada, and confirmed infections were two shy of 5,000. When Sisolak ordered the state’s shutdown on March 17, the virus had killed one person and infected 78.
It wasn’t clear Thursday when Nevada’s gaming industry would be allowed to reopen. That decision — and how it might be done — falls in the hands of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, which will work with health care officials and medical experts to monitor the pandemic, Sisolak said.
When the casinos do reopen, control board agents will be assigned to resorts to ensure that safety guidelines, which have yet to be established, are being obeyed, Sandra Douglas Morgan, the board’s chairwoman, said this week.
Operators should expect more stringent cleaning measures and the imposition of social-distancing protocols, she said. Employee training might be needed for enforcement. Gaming licensees will have to submit reopening plans at least a week before they plan on opening their doors.
“I can safely say that a majority of licensees really want to do what’s best for Nevada,” Morgan said. “They want to make sure their guests feel safe.”
On Monday, Sisolak announced Nevada had joined the Western States Pact, a coalition with California, Washington state, Oregon and Colorado that is focused on the orderly reopening of their economies and mitigation of the pandemic.
The agreement lays out goals, including expanded testing, contact testing tracing and isolation; the replenishment of hospital resources to safely and adequately combat the novel virus and the protection of vulnerable populations at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, and the intention for hospitals to have enough resources to safely and adequately combat coronavirus.
