LAS VEGAS (AP) – Masks are back in Las Vegas, where regional health officials pointed out a rising number of coronavirus cases on Friday and advised everyone – vaccinated or not – to wear face coverings in crowded indoor spaces.
The Southern Nevada Health District recommendation is not a requirement. But it could affect casinos, concerts, and clubs during a busy summer weekend for visitors out of town.
Seven weeks ago, Nevada completely lifted coronavirus restrictions and returned measures to fight the pandemic to counties.
This week, the leading health doctor in Los Angeles urged Californians to reconsider a trip to Nevada until COVID-19 case numbers in Silver State decline.
Nevada health officials on Thursday reported the largest one-day increase in coronavirus cases in the state since February.
They said test positivity, a key marker of the percentage of people found infected among those tested for the virus, tripled from 3.4% five weeks ago to 10.9% on Thursday.
The positivity reported by the State Department of Health and Human Services was 12.3% in the Las Vegas area.
The state counted 938 new cases of COVID-19 and 15 new deaths nationwide on Thursday, bringing the number of COVID-19-related deaths in Nevada to 5,752 since March 2020.
