Nevada governor sets May 20 date to lift COVID-19 emergency

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak announced Friday he plans in two weeks to lift the state of emergency he declared during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement from his office, the Democrat who is running for a second term as governor credited the declaration with giving the state “flexibility … to respond to challenges as they arose.”

He put a May 20 end date to the statewide emergency he declared on March 12, 2020, and said officials want to “ensure there is no gap in services when the emergency ends.”

Most measures, including business restrictions and mask mandates, have already been lifted.

But the statement noted that some measures are still in place, including waiving some licensing requirements for health care workers and an allowance for some doctors, nurses, emergency medical technicians and medical students to care for COVID-19 patients.

“The State is working with the appropriate partners as the emergency order ends,” it said.

The first death in the state attributed to COVID-19 was reported March 16, 2020, just 11 days after officials said the first cases were found in Reno and Las Vegas.

As of Monday, the state Department of Health and Human Services reported 665,095 known cases of COVID-19, and 10,780 deaths.