LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — As of midnight, masks are back for thousands of employees in Clark County.
This comes after county commissioners voted to require masks for employees in indoor, public spaces at their workplace. It’s part of an effort to combat a COVID-19 surge in Southern Nevada.
But some workers are questioning how effective it will be since it does not apply to customers or visitors.
“Who are we protecting?” questioned Robin McDermott.
That is a question she’s been asking herself ever since the commissioners’ vote Tuesday. The Nevada Gaming Control Board announced on Wednesday that the rules also apply to gaming employees.
“It’s very frustrating, like, I don’t mind wearing a mask,” McDermott said.
She works as a dealer at one of the Las Vegas Strip casinos and says she is fine following the rules. However, she believes only mandating masks for workers does not make sense.
“By having everybody that comes into the casino not having a mask on, I think, it’s really doing nothing,” McDermott told 8 News Now. “I don’t think it will be very effective.”
But Justin Jones, Clark County commissioner for District F, says the mask requirement for workers is a step in the right direction.
“Absent a mandate across the board, there’s no way to constantly verify who’s actually vaccinated,” he explained.
Jones says what we can do is continue to push that people get the COVID-19 vaccine and follow the Southern Nevada Health District’s (SNHD) recommendation for everyone to wear masks indoors, regardless of vaccination status.
Clark County leaders also voted to require large venues and larger employers to submit mitigation plans. It is still unclear, though, what exactly the county will be looking for within those plans.
“We’re still working with our business license team as to what those should look like and how we’re going to do the review,” Jones shared.
Meanwhile, McDermott hopes the mask requirement becomes more uniform.
“I would like to see them have everybody wear a mask if you go indoors,” she said.
The mandate continues through Aug. 17, the date commissioners will revisit the issue. They are working with SNHD to figure out benchmarks to help decide what action would need to be taken at that point.
