Nevada’s month-old stay-at-home order that was set to expire at midnight April 30 will be extended two weeks to May 15, though some coronavirus restrictions were eased starting Friday, May 1, Gov. Steve Sisolak announced the move April 29.
While the stay-at-home order remains in place, as well as the 10-person limit on public gatherings, people can once again play golf, pickleball and tennis as long as it is done in a way that prevents the spread of COVID-19.
According to Boulder City, tee times at Boulder City Municipal Course and Boulder Creek Golf Club will be limited and only one person is allowed per cart, unless they are family members. The clubhouses will stay closed.
“I am truly excited to reopen, but the safety and health of our employees and golfers is always going to be my top priority,” said Andy Schaper, director of operations for the Boulder Creek Golf Club and Boulder City Municipal Course. “The state guidelines will require more patience on the part of golfers, but we have been working with the Nevada Golf Alliance to ensure a relatively smooth transition.”
Curbside food and beverages will be available.
Tennis courts at Hemenway Valley and Broadbent parks opened to the public Friday, May 1, and staff will be cleaning the courts daily.
Outdoor pickleball at ABC Park began Monday, May 4.
“We are excited to be able to provide these spaces once again,” said Roger Hall, parks and recreation director. “Players will need to maintain social distancing, but opening these courts will provide a great outlet for our community to get out and get moving once again.”
Curbside commerce
Sisolak’s directive also allows all retail businesses, including those previously deemed nonessential, to operate under a “curbside commerce model” similar to curbside pickup now allowed for restaurants and eateries.
Additionally, places of worship can hold drive-up religious services, as long as people stay in their vehicles and maintain social distancing parameters with people who are not part of their household.
“Nevadans have done an incredible job at staying home for our state, and as we work diligently to meet the reopening criteria, I wanted to begin some initial incremental changes that will make our full transition into Phase 1 smoother and positively impact our communities and small businesses,” Sisolak said in a statement. “Our ability to enter the next phase and any subsequent phase of reopening will be determined by the continued commitment of Nevadans to follow aggressive social distancing guidance and requirements.”
The governor, who on April 28 teased on social media that he would announce a “Roadmap to Recovery” plan for Nevada, previewed the latest directives in an interview early April 29 with ABC’s “Good Morning America.” Sisolak said in the interview that casinos would not reopen “until the third or fourth phase” of Nevada’s reopening plan.
“We’re just not ready right now to handle that kind of volume,” he said.
Gradual reopening
Nevada is currently in “Phase Zero,” according to the governor, who said last week the slowing of coronavirus case statistics would trigger the gradual reopening plan.
“Our statistics have plateaued. We’ve got almost 5,000 cases now in the state of Nevada and 225 fatalities, so those numbers have kind of stabilized, and hospitalizations and intensive care hospitalizations have begun to decline. And so we are looking forward to continue to bring our economy back to life a little bit,” the governor added.
Sisolak began lifting some coronavirus restrictions April 28 when he announced that hospitals in the state would begin performing medically necessary procedures that had been temporarily halted amid the outbreak.
The governor’s COVID-19 response team issued a series of guidelines with the directives April 29.
A sample of other guidance issued:
■ Private golf and tennis clubs can reopen as long as they follow the public health guidelines, but clubhouses, bars, and amenities such as gyms must remain closed. There should only be one golfer per cart unless players live in the same household. Carts also must be wiped down before and after each round.
■ Smoke shops, breweries, and wine, beer, and liquor stores may open for curbside or home delivery services only. As with other retailers, contactless payment is recommended, and items must be placed in customers’ cars by the employees. No hand-to-hand delivery is permitted.
■ Car, furniture and appliance showrooms remain closed but items may still be purchased.
■ Real estate: No open houses or in-person showings of occupied properties permitted. Unoccupied house viewings by appointment.
■ Home service by a barber/stylist: Not permitted, at threat of losing license.
Businesses react
Officials with business associations see the option for retail curbside pickup as a positive step. But some also said they believe the state has not yet relayed sufficient information to the public or businesses.
“For us, it still comes down to there are still so many details that we don’t know,” Bryan Wachter, vice president of government and public affairs for the Retail Association of Nevada, said in a phone interview April 29.
“We just don’t have a lot of answers to give them,” Wachter said about communicating with the association’s members. “We don’t know what that will look like. Will it be county-by-county? Will it be a statewide policy?
Curbside pickup could get retail stores back to a “minimum level of operation,” he said, while adding that getting the infrastructure in place for some “mom-and-pop” businesses could be difficult.
Contact Capital Bureau Chief Colton Lochhead at clochhead@ reviewjournal.com . Follow @ ColtonLochhead on Twitter. Boulder City Review Editor Hali Bernstein Saylor, Boulder City Review staff writer Celia Shortt Goodyear and Review-Journal staff writer Bill Dentzer contributed to this report.