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Sisolak extends coronavirus directives in Nevada

CARSON CITY — Gov. Steve Sisolak on Friday extended several COVID-19 related emergency directives that were set to expire at the end of July, including limits on the size of public gatherings and a half-capacity restriction on indoor business occupancy.

The governor’s order extends the expiring directives for the duration of the emergency he declared in March in response to the pandemic. Sisolak announced on Monday the continued closure of bars in certain Nevada counties, including Clark and Washoe.

Besides extending the half-capacity occupancy requirement for business and a 50-person limit on public gatherings, the new directive also allows governing bodies to continue to conduct public business online with provisions for remote public participation.

Bars, pubs and taverns in certain Nevada counties with elevated transmission risk, currently Clark, Elko, Nye and Washoe, will stay closed under a separate directive.

The state is changing how it assesses trends on COVID-19 infection spread, hospitalizations and other metrics to better identify which counties “are getting progressively better or worse” and which “should tighten up or loosen mitigation efforts,” according to a statement from the governor’s office. That new assessment framework is being rolled out next week, the governor’s office said.

An advisory group of public health, hospital, business enforcement and local government representatives will assess the data to make statewide and local recommendations and suggest “increased enforcement mechanisms.”

The changes will make future policy changes more predictable for local jurisdictions, and the group will work directly with localities on enhanced enforcement, focused targeting and next steps to reduce COVID-19 spread.

Contact Capital Bureau reporter Bill Dentzer at bdentzer@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DentzerNews on Twitter.

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