LETTER: Sisolak shuts down golf courses, bans religious services
April 12, 2020 - 9:00 pm

(Las Vegas Review-Journal)
On Wednesday, Gov. Steve Sisolak expanded his COVID-19 shutdown order to include golf courses and religious gatherings. The governor explained his decision on the former with a report of seeing pictures of people riding two to a cart and “gathering on greens.”
Pot dispensaries and construction on the Raiders stadium remain “essential.”
The governor knows more about the details of how the virus spreads than we do, and his fast action to shut down the resorts will no doubt be shown to have saved numerous lives. Still, every new shutdown carries collateral consequences, and the fallout goes beyond the added burden to the unemployment system. A round of golf and a worship congregation that honors social distancing may provide wellness benefits.
The governor has a difficult job, and we should be grateful for his decisive action. But I hope he is making decisions based on science and after considering the consequences rather than on fear and panic. Decisions based on fear and panic can lead to new problems. A club choice made in panic can leave us buried in a sand trap.