56°F
weather icon Partly Cloudy

May reopening set as distancing rule to end

Gov. Steve Sisolak says the requirement to wear a mask while in public will remain in place for an undetermined amount of time as the state moves to fully reopen.

Nevada will lift all statewide social distancing mandates starting May 1, with the goal of reopening the entire state to 100 percent capacity by June 1, Sisolak announced Tuesday.

The requirement to wear a mask while in public will remain in place for an undetermined amount of time, and counties will not have the authority to override that, Sisolak said during a news conference in Carson City.

“After extensive conversations with state health officials, and with the goal to reopen to 100 percent capacity across Nevada by June 1, we will remove the statewide required social distancing mandate as of May 1,” Sisolak said.

Sisolak cited a stabilization of most COVID-19 statistics combined with a continued increase in the number of Nevadans getting vaccinated as reasons for the more aggressive reopening approach, one which he said would aid in kick-starting the state’s economy. Roughly 40 percent of Nevadans 16 years old and older have started the vaccine process, Sisolak said, and about one-quarter of all residents 16 and older are fully vaccinated.

“It’s important to me that we protect our residents, we protect our workers and we also open our economy back up,” Sisolak said. “I need to get conventions, I need to get events coming back into town, into this state. I need to get people back to work as a result of those. And I think these reopenings are going to make that a lot more realistic and a lot more speedy.”

^

Locals taking over

The plan to transition mitigation authority to local governments starting May 1 remains in place, Sisolak said, adding that he understands that some local governments will choose to move to full reopening before June 1.

“It’s great news, but residents still need to be responsible moving forward. We’ve come a long way and do not want to make choices that set us back,” said Will Gray, Boulder City fire chief/COVID response incident commander. “We’ve been fortunate as a community to keep our positivity rate low over the past year. Moving forward, we will be receiving our local control guidance from Clark County. More details of this will be shared as it becomes available.”

As for the statewide mask mandate that is staying in place, Sisolak said that he does not have a specific date in mind for when the state could lift that.

Differing approaches

Some rural counties, many of which have been vocal critics of Sisolak’s COVID-19 restrictions, look poised to reopen as soon as they’re allowed. The Nye County Commission last week voted unanimously to direct staff to allow businesses to open at 100 percent capacity and fully open government facilities.

But Nevada’s urban counties of Clark and Washoe are planning a more tempered approach.

The Clark County Commission is scheduled to vote on a reopening plan during a meeting next Tuesday, April 20, that it will submit to the state for approval. That plan includes some smaller changes, such as increasing the number of people allowed at a restaurant table from six to 10 and the reopening of buffets and nightclubs if social distancing is in place.

Authority over mandates for schools will be handed over to local school districts starting May 1.

For Nevada’s economy, reopening to full capacity by summer could be a major shot in the arm as it works to ramp back up the tourism and gaming sectors.

“Vaccinating our residents and disease surveillance will continue to be priorities for the city emergency operations center, well into the summer. I’m optimistic that there is light at the end of this tunnel, but based on the data still coming in, we are not at the end just yet, but getting closer every week,” Gray said.

Contact Capital Bureau Chief Colton Lochhead at clochhead@ reviewjournal.com . Follow @ColtonLochhead on Twitter. Boulder City Review Editor Hali Bernstein Saylor and Review-Journal staff writers Rick Velotta, Heidi Knapp Rinella, Sabrina Schnur and Shea Johnson contributed to this story.

Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
THE LATEST
BC repaint: Countdown is on

It’s almost time to don that old pair of jeans, the ratty tennis shoes in the back of your closet and a shirt you’re not worried about ruining.

Management of veterans’ home sparks controversy

Documents provided to the Boulder City Review by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) appear to back up many of the accusations leveled at the Nevada Department of Veterans Services (NDVS) and leadership of the Southern Nevada State Veterans Home which is located in Boulder City by current and former employees over the past year. Many of the same issues were also noted by CMS surveyors in an inspection of the home that occurred in January.

Spending for proposed pool to be on Nov. ballot

During Tuesday’s Boulder City Council meeting, City Manager Taylour Tedder may have summed things up best.

Historic preservation event set for May

It’s a couple of months away, but scheduling for events tied to Historic Preservation Day — slated for May 11 —are pretty set and revolve around the theme of Trains, Planes and Automobiles.

Slow and steady

For Nevadans at the forefront of the West’s water crisis, snowpack in the Rocky Mountains that eventually trickles down to Lake Mead is always front of mind.

Hunt expected to draw hundreds

For the second year in a row, the city of Boulder City is sponsoring the annual Community Easter Egg Hunt with a little extra help from a friend – the Easter Bunny.

Longtime judge/justice of the peace to retire

If you get arrested in or around Boulder City and have to appear before a judge, that may mean — depending on the offense, the arresting agency and exactly where the arrest happened —that you are in front of the Boulder City municipal judge or the justice of the peace for the Boulder Township of Clark County.

And… We have a primary

It’s official. As of Tuesday evening, five people had filed paperwork to run for city council.

Wait. The museum has WHAT in it’s collection?

It was a presentation about the activities and impact of the Boulder City Museum with lots of info and plans and numbers. But most people who saw it will remember it most for the discussion of some of the museum’s more, hmmm, unusual items that are part of the collection.