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Bars and taverns in Clark County that do not serve food again found themselves voted down from reopening by the Nevada COVID-19 Mitigation & Management Task Force on Thursday. The news comes as the task force opted to allow bars in neighboring Pahrump in Nye County to reopen next week and Washoe County to reopen by Wednesday at 11:59 p.m.
Gov. Steve Sisolak ordered bars to reclose on July 10 to prevent the spread of COVID-19. While many bars shifted to offering some sort of food to keep the doors open, bar-top gaming provided as much as 50 percent of many taverns’ income. Clark County allowed bars to move some of their gaming machines off the bar top and into stand-alone units within the lounge, but limited in number.
The task force says Clark County’s latest infection rate data shows an 11.2 percent test positivity rate, the reason the committee decided to keep bars closed. The state’s target threshold is 7.3 percent, which represents a slower rate of infection.
The task force voted last week to allow countertops in Clark County to reopen, causing many bar owners to wonder if that included their bar tops, but that move only applies to counters at diners or sushi bars. Those locations still need to enforce six feet of social distancing, 50 percent capacity, and mandatory masks when people are walking inside the venue.
• Gov. Steve Sisolak Recloses Bars on Friday to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19 [ELV]
• Clark County Restaurants Can Reopen Countertop Seating on Wednesday [ELV]
• How Coronavirus Is Affecting Las Vegas Food and Restaurants [ELV]
