COVID-19 case confirmed at Legislature’s special session

By John Sadler

Published Friday, July 10, 2020 | 3:30 p.m.

Updated Friday, July 10, 2020 | 7:09 p.m.

A person who has been inside the Nevada State Legislature building during the ongoing special legislative session this week has tested positive for COVID-19, the Legislative Counsel Bureau has confirmed.

It was not immediately clear who tested positive Friday afternoon. In a statement, Legislative Counsel Bureau Director Brenda Erdoes said the person was asymptomatic and "feeling well" and would not be returning to the building.

It was not known whether the infected person was a lawmaker, staff member or other person involved with the special session.

Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson, D-Las Vegas, and Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro, D-Las Vegas, released a joint statement soon after the case was confirmed.

“We passed rules at the beginning of session to allow remote participation for legislators should this situation occur, and we are committed to allowing members to continue their legislative duties remotely if they are uncomfortable,” they said. “(The Legislative Counsel Bureau) has made similar accommodations for staff and members of the press. We will continue to monitor the situation and respond appropriately as the session progresses.”

Assembly Minority Leader Robin Titus, R-Wellington, said she was not concerned about being at risk of contracting the virus because of the safety protocols put into place by the Legislative Counsel Bureau. Measures include: switching bathroom doors, sinks and toilets to nontouch usage, temperature checks before being granted access to the legislative building, and frequent sanitizing of surfaces.

The positive case was not an Assembly Republican, she said.

Titus, though, understands that people have different levels of anxiety. She said there are people who are concerned about the exposure, and said the identity of the person who tested positive was not common knowledge.

“I don’t want to belittle anybody for having a concern about their own risks,” she said.

Assemblywoman Heidi Swank, D-Henderson, said lawmakers were aware a positive virus result could happen during the special session — even if all the necessary precautions were followed.

Swank was not in attendance during a brief floor session of Assembly Friday afternoon, and posted on Twitter afterward that people should not take that as a sign that she had contact with the person who tested positive.

“While we are all worried for someone who tested positive for COVID-19, please refrain from the rumor mill and conjecture," Swank tweeted. “If we aren’t on the floor it doesn’t mean we are ill. We are just not on the floor.”

The Department of Health and Human Services is conducting contact tracing and will directly contact anyone who has had “significant contact" with the infected person or who "requires additional screening.”

The special session, called to address a billion-dollar gap in the state budget, began Wednesday. Entry into the legislative building has been limited greatly. The legislative chambers where business is being conducted are marked by social distancing, mask requirements and Plexiglas panes between lawmakers' desks.

Rules adopted on the first day of the special session have required masks throughout the building during the session. A rule in the Assembly bars lawmakers from speaking on the floor if they do not follow the mask mandate.

Besides the announcement of the positive case, the Legislature was relatively quiet on Friday. No bills were heard in the Assembly, which gaveled in for about 20 minutes this afternoon.

Assemblywoman Teresa Benitez-Thompson, the majority floor leader, said lawmakers will consider two bills Saturday — one involving state worker furloughs; the other allowing schools to tap into year-end balances. The Assembly will convene at 10 a.m. The Senate, which was also mostly silent on Friday, follows at 1 p.m.