EDITORIAL: Mayor should focus on keeping Las Vegans informed

Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman had been largely silent regarding the coronavirus — until Tuesday. She should have kept quiet.

Speaking at a convention authority board meeting, Mayor Goodman lashed out at the media for stoking fears about the illness, saying coverage was “absolutely destroying us.” By “us,” she apparently meant the local tourism economy, as Strip hotels announce precautions, airlines cut back flight schedules, convention planners cancel events and tourists decide to stay home.

“We need to be very proactive,” she said. “We are the convention and entertainment capital of the world, and we are fine. Let’s not just sit here and be consumed with fear. … This is not a time for us to be wimps.”

The mayor’s frustration is understandable but misplaced. Simply insisting that everything is “fine” is not a show of leadership.

After all, it’s not a media concoction that the World Health Organization officially declared the new coronavirus a pandemic on Wednesday for the first time since the swine flu received a similar designation in 2009. The number of Nevada cases has risen to seven and more are on the way. Yes, it’s true that many, many more people die each year from the flu than have contracted the coronavirus, but the point is to heighten awareness so as to best contain the outbreak rather than end up like Italy, where the number of cases has topped 10,000.

Regardless of where all this ends up, the economic ramifications are very real for Southern Nevada, the city of Las Vegas and the state. Flights to Las Vegas have already been affected, and the National Association of Broadcasters on Wednesday announced the cancellation of their April convention on the Strip. What, if anything, are Mayor Goodman and the City Council doing to prepare for the inevitable budget issues that such developments foreshadow?

Widespread panic is no doubt an unhelpful overreaction and some perspective is indeed in order. But the other extreme of “all is well” ignores the reality on the ground and is no less unproductive. Instead of pointing fingers, Mayor Goodman should direct her focus on working diligently to ensure the region is prepared to handle many more cases of coronavirus, keeping city residents informed of exactly what the municipality is doing to address the situation and huddling regularly with Clark County and other officials to coordinate a unified and open response.