Nevada Lifts Mask Mandate for Casinos, Other Public Places

Government officials in Nevada lifted mask mandates on Thursday for people in most places, "effective immediately."

According to The Associated Press, Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak said that locals and tourists would no longer be required to wear facial coverings in public, an order the Nevada Gaming Control Board quickly echoed.

Casinos across the state have dropped the facial-covering rule "unless a local jurisdiction still imposes such a requirement." Sisolak said Nevada depends heavily on tourism, hotel bookings, entertainment and gambling, with casino taxes second only to sales tax as the biggest contributors to the state budget.

"I'm hopeful and confident, based on the data we have, we are in a good position to drop this and to give people back some freedom," Sisolak told The AP. "Everyone wants to get back to their normal life. I mean, it's been two years. I think the time has come."

While the governor said the steep decline in coronavirus cases in Nevada led him to lift the mask mandates, facial coverings would still be required at hospitals, clinics, long-term care facilities, airports and on public modes of transportation and school buses.

Many states may be lifting coronavirus-related restrictions, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Dr. Rochelle Walensky announced earlier this week that the agency was not ready to lift the testing requirements for arriving international travelers.

In the cruise industry, Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises revealed they would lift all mask mandates for fully vaccinated passengers, starting on March 1.