Nevada saddled with rising virus cases, limping economy
LAS VEGAS — As the coronavirus surges to record levels in Nevada, the governor has implored residents to stay home. But Democrat Steve Sisolak has also encouraged out-ofstate visitors — the lifeblood of Nevada’s limping economy — to spend money in Las Vegas.
The pandemic has put officials in this tourismdependent place in a double-bind: trying to protect the economy while keeping people safe.
Nevada’s tourism and hospitality industry has an estimated $67.6 billion economic impact, employing more workers and bringing in more state tax revenue than any other sector. Right now, it’s hurting and Nevada is facing a nearly 13% unemployment rate — the second highest in the U.S. behind Hawaii.
While the governor has urged Nevadans to try to get their groceries delivered, forgo in-person dining and stay home, he’s said he welcomes out-of-state tourists to Nevada. And though he implored residents to consider curbside pick-up, he said tourists were welcome to patronize restaurants as long as they followed protocols, such as abiding by the statewide mask mandate.
But with cases surging, the current measures aren’t working, officials acknowledge. On Thursday, Nevada reported 2,416 new confirmed COVID-19 cases — a record of daily new cases for the state.
The Nevada Hospital Association reports 80% of hospital beds in the state are occupied and said in a recent bulletin that “current strategies are not successfully minimizing the spread of serious disease.”
In Reno, where one hospital has begun moving some coronavirus patients into its parking garage, the county health officer recommended that the governor limit statewide gatherings to 10 people.
Meanwhile, the governor is facing political pushback against more restrictions, along with workers, businesses and industry groups who have taken a big financial hit and are pushing for stability and some way to hang on.
Sisolak, who is grappling with his own COVID-19 diagnosis, has not offered any details about what measures he’s planning to announce this week to curb the spread of the virus, which has so far infected at least 131,000 Nevadans and caused 2,011 deaths.
While he hasn’t ruled out temporary closures of casinos and restaurants, he has defended the current health and safety practices in place as extensive and said he’d be hard-pressed to make any decision that hurts the ability to welcome visitors.
But the governor and his staff have offered little indication as to what other mitigation options they might pursue.
“I don’t have a strong or definitive idea of what that looks l i ke,” Nevada COVID-19 Director Caleb Cage said Friday.
“We’ve done a stay-athome order before and we’ve seen the impact on the virus and we’ve seen the impact on the economy that comes from that. And we’ve tried to do a more targeted approach and seen the impacts on both through that as well,” he said.
Republicans in the state Legislature have urged the governor not to impose blanket restrictions.