As of February 15th, Nevadans finally received a little good news on the pandemic front. After nearly a year of shutdowns, COVID-19 man- dates, and increasing restrictions, State health officials recommended increasing building and business capacity limits statewide.
Governor Steve Sisolak issued a press release on February 11th revealing his new Nevada Roadmap to Recovery Safe Reopening Plan, a plan that allows Nevadans greater access to businesses, events, and public gatherings over the next few months. While the first changes in capacity restrictions, effective February 15th, are modest at best, the Roadmap outlines gradually easing the COVID-19 restrictions that could help reset Nevada’s troubled economy. “After making it through the very difficult winter surges and the pause [Nevada Statewide Pause], Nevadans want and deserve predictability about what our path forward will look like,” Sisolak stated.“This is what was front of mind as we developed this Roadmap to Recovery Safe Reopening Plan.”
Many businesses and organizations have struggled under the state's COVID mandates, including building capacity restrictions that have been in place since last May, when nonessential businesses reopened after months of shutdowns. More restrictive capacity limits were rolled-out in late November after COVID positivity rates spiked and continued to surge through Nevada until late last month. As a result, numerous small shops, restaurants, and commercial enterprises cut staff further or closed their doors - which left Nevada workers to face devasting lay-offs.
According to Sisolak, public gatherings and events may now include 100 people (up from 50) or 35% (up from 25%) of fire code capacity, whichever is less. Either way, it is good news for Silver State business owners and their employees. This means that indoor movie theaters and casino showrooms can now host larger crowds. Churches are also able to facilitate larger congregations without attracting the ire of state authorities.
Much to the relief of many food and beverage service establishments, capacity limits are now 35%, with no occupancy limits for outdoor dining, as long as all social distancing requirements are maintained. The 10% capacity hike applies to restaurants, bars, pubs, and breweries, which have been among those hardest hit by the restrictions. Additionally, gyms, fitness studios, casino gaming floors, and amusement establishments are allowed to operate under the new guidelines.
Libraries and museums are able to return to 50% capacity after also having been restricted to 25% since November. In8 Churchill County, the library will continue to err on the side of caution and is not allowing public entrance into the building. They are offering curbside pickup, Storytime via YouTube with hands-on projects available for pickup and drop-off, and many online books, movies, and audiobook options. The Museum remains open to the public.
All other public entities and Nevada business capacity limits are to remain in place including those for community and recreational centers, including public swimming pools.
The governor also hopes to transition to less restrictive limits in March and May if the COVID-19 test positivity rate continues to drop statewide. “As we continue navigating this pan-demic and ramping up our vaccination efforts, this plan will focus on how we can continue mitigating the spread while getting Nevadans back to work, protecting and recovering our economy, and getting our students back to in-person learning,” Sisolak stated.
Another component of the Roadmap to Recovery is to allow local authorities to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. This would mean, for counties continuing to see a downward trend in test positivity rates and the ability to continue providing adequate response measures such as testing, the decision-making authority on mitigation management would transfer to local officials.
Youth and adult recreational sports may be back on the table in mid-March. According to the Roadmap, tournaments for permissible sports may be allowed (according to the Declaration of Emergency 034 directives) to resume after March 15th, however, tournaments must be approved by the state. If conditions permit, decisions regarding sport and sporting events will transition to local authorities on May 1st. In his Wednesday press release, Sisolak announced that sports within the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association may restart. "I’m excited to announce today that under this new emergency directive, full-contact sports regulated and governed by the NIAA may resume practice and competitions,” stated Sisolak, “if social distancing and all new requirements can be met." However, full-contact sports for travel, club, and private leagues are still prohibited, as well as park district sports programs, and similar non-NIAA sports.
According to State public health officials, “a critical component of a successful reopening plan is that current restrictions must be eased incrementally. As we ease restrictions, we must follow the science and studies, which states clearly and repeatedly that closure to certain settings is more impactful in reducing disease transmission. Those should be extended longer and eased more slowly. Those businesses include indoor dining, restaurants, bars, coffee shops, gyms, fitness centers, and the like.”
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