Covid 19 Mitigation measures transferred to local authority on May 1

In an effort to help meet that goal, Governor Sisolak announced that the statewide social distancing mandate was removed on May 1 and that decisions on social distancing will transition to local authority in accordance with the Roadmap to Recovery timeline that was previously announced.

“Across Nevada great strides have been made in our response to COVID-19 to strengthen our partnerships, build capacity within our public health infrastructure, and vaccinate Nevadans,” said Governor Sisolak. “It’s because of this progress that I am proud to announce the goal of having every county in Nevada reopen to 100 percent on June 1. I am confident that if Nevadans continue to remain vigilant as more and more people get vaccinated, we can accomplish this together.”

COVID-19 mitigation measures will transfer to local authority starting May 1 and each Nevada county has been working with the COVID-19 Mitigation and Management Task Force to finalize plans for this transition.

As a result of this transition to local authority, each county will be able to make decisions based on what is best for their communities while taking into account transmission of the virus, vaccination, testing and other infrastructure needs specific to their communities.

Under the Governor’s plan, the Gaming Control Board will continue to maintain authority over gaming areas of licensed properties in Nevada and decisions related to mitigation measures in Nevada schools will transition to school districts.

While the State will be transitioning authority over social distancing measures to the counties, the mask mandate will remain in effect statewide.

For more than a year, local governments, state health officials, emergency managers, local health authorities and community partners have come together in a statewide response to COVID-19. Processes are now in place to support testing, contact tracing, disease investigation and vaccine rollout in communities across Nevada.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board will continue to maintain authority over gaming institutions, Sisolak said, throughout the state.

He emphasized that the planned timeline will require Nevadans to continue to get vaccinated and continue wearing a mask. The statewide mask mandate will remain in place through the transition, he said.

“But public health officials made it clear that in order to reach our goal of reopening on June 1, we must make sure Nevadans stay masked. It would be irresponsible for me as your Governor to ignore that advice. Additionally, it’s a common sense bargain – if we all continue to wear masks, it will help ensure we can reopen our state by June 1,” Sisolak said.