{"id":141395,"date":"2020-07-10T07:43:08","date_gmt":"2020-07-10T14:43:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=141395"},"modified":"2020-07-10T12:59:34","modified_gmt":"2020-07-10T19:59:34","slug":"nevada-bars-to-close-again-following-coronavirus-spike-and-excessive-non-compliance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nevada-bars-to-close-again-following-coronavirus-spike-and-excessive-non-compliance\/","title":{"rendered":"Nevada Bars to Close Again Following Coronavirus Spike and \u2018Excessive Non-Compliance\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nevada\u2019s Governor Steve Sisolak (D) has ordered all bars, pubs, and taverns in several counties that do not serve food to close in response to growing coronavirus cases<\/a> in the state.<\/p>\n

\"Nevada
Gov. Steve Sisolak said Thursday that bars and taverns had largely failed to comply with health and safety regulations. (Image: Vegas Chamber)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The order, effective Friday night, includes Clark County — which encompasses Las Vegas, and Reno’s Washoe County. This means that bars inside the cities\u2019 casino resorts will be off-limits.<\/p>\n

Also impacted will be Nevada\u2019s restricted gaming licensees, which are locations with fewer than 15 slot machines. These are often drinking establishments with gaming terminals embedded in the bar tops.<\/p>\n

Many Casinos Fail Regulations\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

On Thursday, Sisolak said that the measures are in response to a surge in coronavirus cases since the state began a series of phased re-openings in May. Casinos were permitted to reopen in early June.<\/span><\/p>\n

The governor added that the rollback was not an easy decision to take or one he made lightly. It followed consultation with federal health officials in response to \u201cexcessive non-compliance\u201d with state safety regulations, he said.<\/p>\n

“While discussing Nevada\u2019s data, and using other state\u2019s data as guides, the federal representatives advised that if Nevada did not take swift policy action to prevent the spread of COVID-19 throughout our state, we would likely soon be in a precarious condition where hospitals are overwhelmed with patients in the very near future,\u201d Sisolak said.<\/p>\n

\n

State health inspectors found that fewer than half of the bars they visited were complying with safety measures designed to restrict the spread of the pandemic. For Nevada\u2019s 2,000-odd restricted gaming licensees, these include frequent sanitization of gaming areas and equipment and correct spacing to ensure social distancing and 50 percent occupancy at all times.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Only 50 percent of bars were found to have been complying with Sisolak\u2019s facemask mandate<\/a>, issued June 24.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Breaking the Rules<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Nevada Gaming Control Board announced last week it had conducted 6,008 inspections of restricted gaming operations since June 4 \u2013- enough to visit all licensees three times \u2013- and opened 111 regulatory cases relating to health and safety breaches.<\/p>\n

The regulator emphasized that non-compliance with federal, state, local laws, or health and safety policies constitute a violation of Nevada Gaming Commission Regulation 5.011.<\/p>\n

If non-compliance is discovered during an initial visit, the licensee is issued a written warning and a follow-up observation is conducted by health inspectors. If the licensee remains in breach of regulations, they can be fined up to $134,940.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

As of Friday, Nevada has reported 24,904 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 571 deaths<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n