The state has yet to set a date for the return of gaming, but the Nevada Gaming Control Board on Thursday approved health-and-safety policies to prepare the industry for its return to business. The new requirements set minimum standards for resorts and casinos to limit close contact between people and to disinfect their properties.
Each gaming area will be limited to 50% occupancy, and the number of players will be limited for table games like blackjack, craps, and poker. Casinos must show in their plans how they will disinfect cards and chips as well as provide visitors with hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes.
Prior to reopening, each restricted licensee shall clean and disinfect all of its hard and soft surfaces in accordance with the guidelines published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The Commission voted unanimously on policies that commissioners said are fluid as more information emerges about the pandemic. They lay a foundation for reopening during an unparalleled disruption to the industry after machines went dark and casinos closed in March on the order of Governor Steve Sisolak.
Bigger casinos will be required to submit COVID-19 prevention plans to the state that address cleaning protocols and social distancing measures. Supermarkets and other properties with only a few gaming machines must acknowledge they will follow state policies.
The requirements don’t go as far as union casino and resort workers want. They are asking for temperature checks, employer-paid testing, and other measures not addressed in the state’s policies.
Nightclubs and dayclubs will initially stay closed, and seating will be reduced at restaurants and bars. Properties must also develop protocols for cleaning hotel rooms where a guest with COVID-19 has stayed.
Employers should tell workers to stay home if they are sick and to report co-workers or guests showing coronavirus symptoms.
Source: GMB
