Las Vegas casinos where you no longer need to mask up
CARSON CITY, Nev. — The masks are coming off (again).
Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak on Thursday announced the state would no longer require people to wear face coverings in all indoor public places, adding to a nationwide cascade of COVID policy reversals in the past week.
Sisolak pointed to a decline in case counts and hospitalizations, along with the broader availability of COVID testing, among the reasons why he felt it was time to ditch masks.
“I’m doing what I think is best to protect the health and welfare of the residents of the state of Nevada,” he said, noting that decision was based on science, “balancing all the factors and all the data that’s been presented to me.”
The decision, which took effect immediately, does not apply to public transportation, airports, hospitals, health care clinics and other places serving vulnerable populations.
Private businesses, like casinos, and school districts may also mandate masks, though the state would not require them for teachers as of Friday.
“If a particular school board wants to go further, or a particular business wants to go further than my directive has, and require masks and various things, they’re entitled to do that,” Sisolak said.
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Some casino workers will keep wearing masks
After Sisolak’s announcement, the Nevada Gaming Control Board quickly followed with an order lifting the face-covering rule for casinos “unless a local jurisdiction still imposes such a requirement.”
MGM Resorts promptly pivoted. “Effective immediately, guests and employees are no longer required to wear masks indoors or outdoors,” MGM Resorts CEO & President Bill Hornbuckle wrote in a letter to employees, noting exceptions where government-issued mandates remain in place in Massachusetts, Maryland and Michigan.
MGM’s Nevada properties include ARIA, Bellagio, Delano, Excalibur, Luxor, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, Park MGM, The Mirage, New York-New York, Vdara and T-Mobile Arena. Mask requirements were also lifted at MGM Resorts in Mississippi, New Jersey, New York and Ohio.
Another Strip property, Resorts World Las Vegas, went so far as to post a video about its new mask policy on Twitter, mixing a clip of Sisolak’s announcement with shots of guests partying at its clubs and relaxing in its spa.
USA TODAY has reached out to several other casino chains to check for changes to mask policies.
Tom Maloney, hotel manager at the Atlantis Casino in Reno, said there was “a bit of a celebration,” especially among the guests, when the governor announced the end of the mask mandate. But he said he plans on continuing to mask up at work.
“The team members are a little more hesitant … because we come in contact with so many people of the public. We don’t know … what their status is,” he said.
Cynthia Ruiz and Cecilia Alberto, who work at the dessert station at Toucan Charlie’s in the Atlantis, both said they will continue to wear masks while working.
Ruiz said she is scared of getting sick.
Alberto added that the end of the mask mandate is good…
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