Benjamin Hager/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Pool
Gov. Steve Sisolak discusses Nevadas recent COVID-19 figures during a press conference at the Grant Sawyer State Office Building on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020, in Las Vegas.
Published Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020 | 10:41 a.m.
Updated Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020 | 4:25 p.m.
If Nevadans don’t help limit the spread of the surging coronavirus, the state could be forced to impose more stringent restrictions on businesses and gatherings, Gov. Steve Sisolak said today.
Sisolak called protecting public health while allowing businesses to safely reopen “the great balancing act of 2020.”
“The public needs to understand that if we don’t step up together and follow all health measures, that hard decisions lie ahead,” he said.
Sisolak said responding to the pandemic has been framed as a false choice between mass shutdowns or doing nothing.
The temporary closure of nonessential businesses, including casinos, earlier this year led to record jobless numbers and a state budget deficit of more than $1 billion.
“I don’t want businesses to go under. I don’t want people to lose their jobs,” Sisolak said.
Since the end of September, there has been a spike in virus cases and the 14-day test positivity rate is about 10%, said Caleb Cage, the state’s COVID-19 response director.
Many new cases are the result of small gatherings and people letting down their guard after months of living with the virus, he said.
“That’s the COVID fatigue the governor is talking about. It’s setting in,” Cage said.
Sisolak implored Nevadans to become more diligent in preventive measures, including wearing masks in public, hand washing and avoiding large crowds.
Sisolak criticized comments by President Donald Trump that the country is "rounding the corner" on the pandemic.
“I don’t care who says it, we are not rounding the corner," Sisolak said.
Earlier today, Trump was in Bullhead City, Ariz., just across the state line, for a rally largely aimed at voters in Nevada, a swing state the president is seeking to capture. Polls show Biden leading by as much as 9% as early in-person and mail-in voting is well underway.
This is the second update the governor has provided this week. On Monday, he outlined Nevada’s vaccination plan and a plan to increase convention capacity to 50% in January.
Nevada’s coronavirus infection rate has been increasing since mid-September. The largest number of new daily cases in October has been 954, compared to a high of 507 in September.
The largest number of new daily cases since the start of the pandemic was 1,642 on July 10.
