Nevada Imposes New Restrictions on Casinos in the Wake of the Pandemic

As per the official report received on Sunday, Governor Steve Sisolak issued further restrictions on social gatherings in different parts of the state in the wake of rising coronavirus infections. Nevada’s Governor, who recently recovered from the infection, said he was tightening restrictions on the state’s numerous casinos, bars, and restaurants while issuing a broader statewide mandate for face-coverings for the next couple of weeks.

What’s Allowed and What’s Not

According to the new guidelines, occupancy at casinos, bars, restaurants, gyms, and a host of other community gathering areas like museums, libraries, and bowling alleys, etc., will be limited to 25% capacity. The new regulation slashes the previous occupancy limit by half, and businesses are sure to feel the heat. However, everyone agrees this is the only logical step moving forward as COVID-19 continues to rage in Nevada like wildfire.

While indoor malls will continue to operate at 50% occupancy, the big-box stores have been directed to hire an additional workforce to keep track of the number of heads visiting the establishment at any given time. The move retracts Sisolak’s earlier statement barely two months ago, where he increased the public gathering limit from 50 to 250. However, the move was short-lived.

The new regulations also apply to places of worship, weddings, live theatre performances, funerals, and similar events but exclude in-person learning in K-12 schools. Private gatherings are also restricted to 10 people or two households at most. Furthermore, Nevadans and tourists are now required to wear a mask when out in public at all times.

Details of the New Regulations

The Governor also asked residents to wear a mask in the presence of an unknown person, whether in a household, indoor, outdoor, public, or private gathering. The Governor also enforced the mask mandate in the gym and other fitness areas, noting that “if the exercise is too strenuous while wearing a mask, please seek an alternate activity.”

Sisolak also urged members of the public to strictly follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines and spend Thanksgiving with the immediate family. But he added that people who choose to interact with others out in public must do so while wearing a mask. The Governor described the restrictions as part of a “statewide pause” and not a lockdown. The restrictions will remain in force starting Tuesday midnight for three-weeks.

Sisolak framed the guidelines for the public to follow to relieve the Emergency Service personnel, who are already overwhelmed by the swiftly increasing infection numbers. Since the beginning of the pandemic, nearly 135,000 cases have been registered in Nevada, meaning one in 23 Nevadans contracted the virus while 2,022 lost their lives.

The Silver State also continues to see a steady rise in hospitalization in excess of what was observed last summer at the peak of the pandemic. However, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has come down in the last two days, with 1,273 patients currently admitted across the state.