Governor Steve Sisolak today said all Nevada counties can completely open June 1, 2021. A COVID-19 mask mandate, however, will remain in place.
Sisolak cited positive numbers of people, particularly seniors, who have been vaccinated as a main reason to reopen the state.
“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,” he said. “I am confident that if Nevadans continue to remain vigilant as more and more people get vaccinated, we can accomplish this together.”
Sisolak said about 40% of Nevadans 16 and older have started the process of getting vaccinated and about 25% of Nevadans are fully vaccinated.
“[This] is the first really good news I’ve been able to give in a really long time,” he said of the reopening. “I need to get conventions, I need to get events coming back into the state [and] I need to get people back to work…”
State social distancing mandates end May 1. Counties will then have local control of Covid mitigation efforts, so Washoe County could choose to keep social distancing requirements. Sisolak said each county has been working with a state task force to finalize plans for their plans for May 1.
Washoe County officials responded to the governor’s announcement and said tomorrow’s scheduled meeting to approve its disputed reopening plans is canceled.
“We have been working toward this goal for months, as previewed with the transfer of authority plan that was presented during last week’s commission meeting,” County Commission Chair Bob Lucey said. “We built our plan with the guiding principle that the health of the community is just as important as the health of the economy, so we look forward to joining the governor in rebuilding and moving forward.”
The state’s gaming control board will maintain authority over casinos.
School districts will also be in charge of their own mitigation requirements.
Reno officials did not respond to whether City Hall would reopen meetings to the public after June 1. City officials previously said meetings would reopen July 1, 2021.
