Thread by @GovSisolak

I know Nevadans are eager to hear about when we are reopening, so I will cut right to the chase. I am pleased to announce we are on track with our reopening criteria and we will enter Phase 1 on Saturday, May 9, before the current Stay at Home directive expires on May 15.

I want to thank the incredible Local Empowerment Advisory Panel (LEAP), including Chair @MKNVspeaks, Chair JJ Goicoechea, @NVNACO rep Dagny Stapleton, Directors Michael Brown & Terry Reynolds, & those who worked with them day after day to develop sector-specific guidance

I am able to move up this announcement because, as a State, we have met our gateway benchmarks for starting our reopening that I laid out two weeks ago, and that are included in our Roadmap to Recovery.

Our cumulative test positivity rate reached 12.2 percent on April 24 and has since decreased to 11.2 percent as of yesterday. When it comes to confirmed COVID hospitalizations, we’ve seen an overall decreasing trend since April 21, a total of more than 14 days.

Second, our healthcare system needed to move out of crisis mode and be prepared to handle potential surges in patients. According to @NVHospitals, we have enough capacity to manage a surge. We will continue working with them to ensure they are prepared.

To date, we’ve distributed nearly 3 million N95 and surgical masks & we are rebuilding our PPE stockpile to be able to continue distributing items. We will continue to place orders and distribute items.

Last week I mentioned that we are able to test symptomatic patients, & we continue to make progress toward our testing expansion. There are new drive-thru testing sites popping up across NV and I’m proud of these efforts. We have more to do, but we are on our way.

Now I'd like to go through what Nevada's Phase 1 of our Roadmap to Recovery will look like. First off: businesses that will be reopening with strict social distancing requirements...

RESTAURANTS: We still encourage curbside & delivery, but they can now open dine-in under requirements. They must require employees to wear face coverings & encourage customers to wear them as well. In-person dining is limited to no more than 50% of available seating capacity...

RESTAURANTS cont...Reservations should be required. Tables/booths must be spaced 6 ft apart. Bar tops/bar areas within restaurants remain CLOSED. If waiting to be seated, patron must wait outside.

BARBER SHOPS, HAIR SALONS & NAIL SALONS:
- Partitions/walls between each work station are strongly encouraged. If not, must only use every other chair or ensure they are 6 ft apart.
- Services must be provided through appointment ONLY. No walk-ins.
- Face coverings required

RETAIL: Retail businesses are strongly encouraged to promote & continue online or call-in ordering, curbside, delivery, and/or pickup operations, but they may now reopen under strict social distancing requirements.

Retail businesses shall limit the number of customers in their facility at any given time to no more than 50% of allowed occupancy based on applicable fire code...

Open air malls may open in accordance with the retail business standards I just mentioned.

Indoor malls remain closed to the public, but may establish an outdoor curbside or pick-up operation to the extent practicable, following strict social distancing requirements

To summarize: if you’re a retail business, you may open, but have to follow these rules and review the forthcoming business and sector-specific guidance that the LEAP and the State drafted.

ALL retail businesses – regardless as to whether they were defined as “essential” or “non-essential” in previous directives – must abide by the Phase 1 Statewide Standards for retail businesses. Businesses must also adopt measures put forth by NV OSHA.

Retail cannabis dispensaries are encouraged to continue curbside, delivery and pick-up operations, but may now conduct in-store sales after submitting a plan and receiving approval from the Marijuana Enforcement Division.

Face coverings for everyone are strongly encouraged in public. All employers & businesses shall require employees who interact with the public to wear face coverings, to the maximum extent practicable.

During Phase 1, individuals are also encouraged to continue to stay home unless you need to leave for essential activities and all large public gatherings, or gatherings over ten are still prohibited.

If you are a member of a vulnerable populations, you must continue to shelter in place. Members of households with vulnerable residents should be aware that by returning to work or other environments where you cannot social distance, you may carry the virus back home

Certain businesses that will not be able to reopen during Phase 1 include:
- Nightclubs & taverns that aren’t currently open and don’t have a license to serve food
- Gyms and fitness facilities, including yoga and spin facilities
- Strip clubs and brothels
...

Not reopening in Phase 1 cont...
- Spas, tanning salons, massage parlors, body art & body piercing establishments.
-Entertainment & recreational venues such as bowling alleys, movie theaters (except drive ins), sporting event venues, arcades, & recreational and community centers

If we want to stay open, it’s up to us to continue the aggressive social distancing measures that allowed us to progress to this point. We must have more patience, so we have fewer patients. And if we continue to stay safe, we can stay open. #StaySafeStayOpen