Sisolak: Full reopening by June 1 still the plan

Gov. Steve Sisolak on Tuesday announced his goal to have all Nevada counties open to 100 percent capacity by June 1.

In an effort to help meet that goal, the governor also announced that the statewide social distancing mandate will be removed May 1 and that decisions on social distancing will transition to local authority in accordance with the Roadmap to Recovery timeline that was previously announced.

“Across Nevada great strides have been made in our response to COVID-19 to strengthen our partnerships, build capacity within our public health infrastructure and vaccinate Nevadans,” Sisolak said. “It’s because of this progress that I am proud to announce the goal of having every county in Nevada reopen to 100 percent on June 1. I am confident that if Nevadans continue to remain vigilant as more and more people get vaccinated, we can accomplish this together.”

COVID-19 mitigation measures will transfer to local authority starting May 1, and each Nevada county has been working with the COVID-19 Mitigation and Management Task Force to finalize plans for this transition. Each county will be able to make decisions based on what is best for their communities while taking into account transmission of the virus, vaccination, testing and other infrastructure needs specific to their communities.

Under the governor’s plan, the Gaming Control Board will continue to maintain authority over gaming areas of licensed properties in Nevada, and decisions related to mitigation measures in Nevada schools will transition to school districts. While the state will be transitioning authority over social distancing measures to the counties, the mask mandate will remain in effect statewide.

On April 5, vaccine eligibility opened to all Nevadans 16 and older and, as of Tuesday, approximately 40% of Nevadans 16 and older have started the process, and one quarter of Nevadans 16 and older are fully vaccinated.

The governor’s Emergency Directive implementing these changes will be finalized and published later this week.