Nevada casinos would come in the 3rd or 4th reopening phase, Gov. says

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak plans to extend his directive asking people to stay home to limit the spread of the coronavirus but he will ease some restrictions. He said the opening of Las Vegas casinos likely won’t happen until the third or fourth phase of his gradual reopening plan, but he has not released any more details or timeline.

The Democratic governor said in an interview with ABC News Wednesday that Nevada’s coronavirus cases and deaths have reached a plateau but he has to “extend the stay at home order a little bit” in order to see the numbers drop.

Amid pressure from Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman to reopen casinos and businesses right away, Sisolak said there would be multiple people involved in orchestrating that process as the proper safety measures need to be ensured. “The strip is actually in Clark County. We’ve got a great partnership with Chairwoman Kirkpatrick at the county commission, and Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve in particular, to help us with the openings," he said. "I’m in regular contact with the resort operators. It’s not something as simple as flipping a switch and suddenly everybody is going to come back to Las Vegas."

Sisolak said officials also need to "work on the travel part" together, which was one of the reasons Nevada joined with its adjoining states to help get people to come visit again. "The casino and the gaming enterprises will probably come in the third or the fourth phase of what we’re doing here because we’re just not ready yet to handle that type of a volume," Sisolak said.

Sioslak in mid-March closed casinos, restaurants and businesses that were not considered essential and asked residents to stay home at least through Thursday. The governor did not offer information about how long he would extend the order. He also said that he would be easing some outdoor restrictions and rules about the curbside pickup at retailers, but did not offer more details. He said in a tweet this week that he will detail his reopening plan on Thursday.

Republican lawmakers sent a letter to Sisolak’s office Wednesday calling for definitive timelines for more economic activity to resume and a bipartisan task force to come up with a reopening strategy. They also want more workers hired and shifting of existing government workers to handle the crush of unemployment claims.

Moreover, the Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD) is already preparing guidelines and plans to work closely with resorts and casinos regarding safety protocols. But health leaders did not mention anything too specific during a virtual meeting on Wednesday.

“A lot of planning considerations will implemented at every level of our resort properties, how we manage our tourism industry and visitors,” said Jeff Quinn of SNHD, as reported by KLAS. The district will make recommendations based on direction from the CDC and Gov. Sisolak’s office.

“Plexiglass and thermal screeners are two of the things I’ve heard quite a bit about the resorts rolling out,” said Dr. Michael Johnson of SNHD. The plexiglass will possibly be installed around gaming tables and between slot machines. That is a decision the district says is up to the resorts when deciding how to reopen.

State health officials reported 230 deaths statewide from the coronavirus outbreak Wednesday. The health department also reported nearly 5,000 cases of COVID-19.