{"id":139230,"date":"2020-06-19T09:48:55","date_gmt":"2020-06-19T16:48:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=139230"},"modified":"2020-06-19T15:02:37","modified_gmt":"2020-06-19T22:02:37","slug":"cdc-issues-considerations-for-casino-reopenings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/cdc-issues-considerations-for-casino-reopenings\/","title":{"rendered":"CDC Issues Casino Reopening Considerations, But 734 Have Already Resumed Operations"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued “Considerations for Casinos and Gaming Operations” to ponder as they reopen. But the guidance comes after more than 700 casino venues have already unlocked their doors.<\/p>\n

\"CDC
A man who was not required to wear a face mask at the time plays craps at the Bellagio in Las Vegas on June 4. Gamblers must now wear a mask while playing table games in Nevada. (Image: John Locher\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to the American Gaming Association’s (AGA) COVID-19 Casino Tracker, 734 commercial and tribal casinos are open. Two hundred and fifty-five remain closed<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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US casinos began shuttering in early March. It was only on June 18 that the CDC released advice as to how such businesses should safely reopen. The federal health agency says the final decision as to what capacity a casino should resume gaming at must be a collaborative effort between federal, state, and local officials.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The CDC states that the longer a person “in a casino or gaming setting \u2026 interacts with others, the higher the risk of COVID-19 spread.” The health agency adds the disease “is mostly spread by respiratory droplets released when an infected person talks, coughs, or sneezes.”<\/p>\n

Casinos and Coronavirus<\/b><\/h2>\n

Nevada, the largest gaming state in the US, began reopening casinos on June 4. As is the case at casinos across the country, numerous health and safety measures were required to be in place before each casino could turn their slots back on.<\/p>\n

Nevada casinos have rearranged their slot machines and floor layouts to promote social distancing, reduced table game capacity, installed plexiglass dividers between players, increased cleaning protocols, and have required their employees to wear masks.<\/p>\n

The CDC says the risk of COVID-19 spread increases in casinos amid the following four scenarios:<\/p>\n