Some Las Vegas companies and associations find Clark County’s new employee mask mandate contradicting itself, but continue to support the initiative.
The mood follows an announcement by the Clark County Commission Tuesday that all workers must wear a mask from midnight Wednesday.
The county implemented the mandate to alleviate the continuing surge in COVID-19 cases in the county, which has caused medical advisors to sound the alarm. The general public is not required to wear a face mask, and the commission said it would reconsider its requirement on Aug. 17.
Wyndee Forrest, co-owner of CraftHaus Brewery, said she wasn’t surprised but questioned the mandate’s effectiveness.
“I understand that public perception plays a role in these decisions, but it seems short-sighted that only employees wear masks and not guests,” said Forrest. “Are we really making that big a difference?”
Forrest said she asked her staff to wear a mask almost a week ago amid a surge in local COVID-19 cases attributed to the more contagious Delta variant.
“I didn’t get a pushback (from staff) and it wasn’t a big deal,” Forrest said. “Some actually thanked me. My hope that we will do this again is that we will not switch off again because we are trying to avoid that and of course more deaths. “
Stay open
Requiring employees to wear a mask is seen as an easy task if it prevents another financially crippling shutdown, local business associations and chambers said.
Peter Guzman, president of the Latin Chamber of Commerce, said he hadn’t heard any complaints from members about the new mandate. Many companies are already continuing COVID-19 security precautions, including asking employees to wear a mask, he added.
“The (coronavirus) numbers have increased. So listen, if we have to wear masks to stay open, so be it, ”he said.
The Vegas Chamber said it is also looking at the bigger picture – the economic recovery.
“Our companies have been through a lot in the past 15 months,” said Mary Beth Sewald, executive director of the Vegas Chamber. “They had to close or significantly reduce their operations. Employees have been laid off or have completely lost their jobs. Some companies didn’t make it. We can’t go through that again. “
Sewald also pointed out that the state’s rising caseload is affecting the tourism industry, which in turn will harm conventions and special events.
Recently, the city of Chicago issued a travel warning to residents planning to visit Nevada, encouraging them to quarantine themselves for 10 days after their trip or to get tested for COVID-19 on their return if they are not vaccinated were. In Hawaii, Kaua’i county officials have also warned against traveling to Las Vegas due to increased COVID-19 risks. And Los Angeles County’s chief health officer last week recommended that residents travel to Nevada because of the high cases of infection.
Nevada Restaurant Association representative Alexandria Dazlic said although the latest mask mandate is to resolve capacity problems in hospitals, “restaurants continue to follow all COVID-19-specific regulations in addition to our strict health and safety protocols” to both employees and employees also protect customers.
More support
Michael Mack, owner of the luxury resale store Max Pawn, said the new mandate is a good step and supports the security measure intended to keep the state open.
“It takes the pressure off companies to make this decision for their employees,” he said, adding that Max Pawn’s employees were asked to wear masks last week.
He said the growing number of COVID-19 infections is encouraging the retailer to implement its own mask mandate ahead of the county’s announcement.
“We have a great team at Max Pawn and they know we want to make sure they are protected,” said Mack. “We ask guests to re-consider masks regardless of their vaccination status in order to protect our other buyers and employees.”
While some companies have already implemented a mask mandate, others are working to follow the new change.
Bryan Wachter, senior vice president of the Retail Association of Nevada, said she was taking the necessary steps to alert retailers to the new requirement, but noted the county should consider bigger steps to help tourists and residents alike encourage them to do their part.
“Once again, our elected executives have rushed a new COVID restriction that is unlikely to have any impact on slowing the spread of COVID in Clark County or changing the way our employees are protected from the spread of COVID in the community,” said Wachter . “While a grocery store can be a place that every resident visits once or several times a week, it is important to remember that all residents and tourists should do their part to stop the spread of large, public events return to the Las Vegas Strip for COVID-19. “
Contact Subrina Hudson at shudson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0340. Follow @SubrinaH on Twitter.
