In the next couple of weeks, our focus will be on meeting the criteria & moving into Phase 1 on or before May 15. I'd like to walk through an overview of what you can expect in Phase 1, or as we will call it, our “Battle Born Beginning.”
We will continue to operate with strict social distancing guidelines. As Nevada gradually opens businesses & public life, & people who have been sheltering for weeks increase their interaction, it is essential for all of us to continue following the social distancing measures.
The virus remains among us, and people infected with the virus will spread it to others when strong social distancing measures are not in use. It’s critical that Nevadans continue wearing improvised face coverings, or “non-medical” masks, whenever they leave their home.
Folks should continue to stay at home as much as possible. When it comes to vulnerable populations in Phase 1 and beyond, you must remain home until the outbreak has subsided. I urge all Nevadans to remember all those who are at risk & heed the call to continue protecting them.
We still won’t be able to have social events and the prohibition on public gatherings over 10 people will remain in place. Non-essential businesses, with some exceptions, may voluntarily reopen under restrictions. (I’ll get into the oversight structure in just a little bit)
We will consider the gradual reopening of dine-in restaurants and personal care services, but with strict guidelines to protect the health and safety of the workers and the customers. These will be thoroughly reviewed to ensure Nevadans can remain safe.
Bars and nightclubs will remain closed, as will malls, large sporting events, large in-person places of worship and concerts. I know we are all looking forward to these opening up, but due to the density and risk, we will be unable to do so in Phase 1.
This may sound familiar to those keeping track of plans in other states who are navigating this reopening process, but there’s something uniquely Nevadan about our plan, and it goes back to our guiding principle of ensuring our roadmap is state managed and locally executed.
Up to this point, the State has directed the response efforts for COVID-19 and determined which businesses can remain open under strict conditions and which businesses must close. These were difficult decisions I had to make under an unimaginable emergency situation.
But in our effort to begin transitioning into more familiar territory, my goal with our state-specific plan is to return to the Nevada style of collective and collaborative governance and decision-making that sets us apart.
We may not always agree, but we are one of the few places where political disagreements will not prevent us from working together for our State. I know this in my heart to be true. We don’t always have to agree, but if you love Nevada, we’re all going to do this together.
That’s why in order to help us navigate Phase 1 and plan for future phases, we are going to partner with our locally elected officials at the county level, who are the experts in their communities.
In an effort for Nevada to start returning to the normal structure of governmental decision-making, the county commission will have increasing responsibility for determining the manner in which businesses within its jurisdiction can open and operate in.
The main requirement is that county guidance and restrictions must meet or exceed the standards set forth by the state in the new directive I will be issuing prior to entering Phase 1.
Our response efforts should reflect our regional differences, while still operating under our shared, statewide goal of keeping Nevadans safe and restarting our economy.
I am happy to announce the formation of the Local Empowerment Advisory Panel, or “LEAP,” a group of Nevada stakeholders who will serve as a resource for counties as they work through the requirements to reopen and share best practices and guidelines for local communities.
I am pleased to have Clark County Commission Chairwoman @MKNVspeaks represent urban counties, and Eureka County Commission Chair J.J. Goicoechea represent our rural counties as we navigate our Roadmap to Recovery.
They will be joined by representatives from the Nevada Association of Counties (NACO), and the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, in addition to the Director of the Nevada Department of Business of Industry.
I come from the counties. I uniquely understand that counties know how to get the work done and they know what their residents and businesses need and how they operate. I have not, and will not, forget that.
And as your Governor, I maintain the responsibility for the health & safety of ALL Nevadans, & I know that it will hurt all Nevadans if any of our 17 counties are unsafe. That's why I will require all counties to submit criteria reports &data tracking to the LEAP and the state.
And if we need to pause to spend some extra time and attention taking care of our of one of our counties, we will do that. And the data we collect from our county leaders on a regular basis will let us do that together.
If there is a major new outbreak or cluster, the State will take quick mitigation actions to protect the health and safety of Nevadans. In some instances, this could even mean rolling-back some of the reopening steps.
This virus doesn’t know borders, so we must work together as neighbors & Nevadans to make sure we are all progressing toward the criteria. As we make progress throughout Phase 1, we will assess the information together and go into Phase 2: our Silver State Stabilization phase.
In this phase we will continue easing restrictions on business and public life, as appropriate and in coordination with local leaders and medical experts. We will not enter a new phase unless the data demonstrates that our public health system is ready to do it’s job.
After each phase of reopenings, state public health officials will review the numbers of new COVID-19 daily case counts, hospitalizations, & deaths carefully. According to John Hopkins, “the results of reopening decisions will take 2 to 3 weeks to be reflected in those numbers."
There’s much more info in the Nevada United: Roadmap to Recovery Plan, which can be found online. This plan provides more information on what our phases will look like, including potential duration, goals and expectations – all that will lead us to our eventual new normal.
