LAS VEGAS (AP) - About 100 people gathered outside the Nevada governor’s private home in Las Vegas to protest a mask mandate intended to limit the spread of COVID-19.
Political action committee No Mask Nevada planned the Monday demonstration after Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak implemented the order, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
“This governor is trying to destroy the global symbol of American prosperity,” co-founder Ian Bayne said. “The rules make no sense and the mask just serves to deter and destroy tourism in Las Vegas.”
The group started with about 50 people and nearly doubled in size within an hour.
Chair Melissa Blundo said that the group wanted to “hit Sisolak at home like he hit us at home.”
“I firmly believe it’s the governor’s job to protect our rights, not our health, and shouldn’t get to pick and choose which rights to protect,” she said.
Sisolak’s office did not respond to a message seeking comment Tuesday.
The committee has organized multiple demonstrations across the valley in the past few months, most recently on Aug. 29.
Surgical masks and cloth masks have been effective at reducing the spread of COVID-19, said Brian Labus, a member of the governor’s medical advisory team. He added that the order mandating masks in public is intended to protect people who can become infected from those who do not show symptoms.
State health officials on Tuesday reported 262 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the statewide figure to 76,298. Fifteen new deaths brought the total to at least 1,546 since the pandemic began began in March.
More than 85% of cases in Nevada have been in the Las Vegas area, where the Southern Nevada Health District reported Tuesday that 64,470 people have been diagnosed with the virus and 1,343 have died.
The number of infections is thought to be higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick.
For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause severe illness and death.
In other developments:
- Nevada’s jobless rate improved to 13.2% in August after peaking at an unadjusted high of 30% in April. The state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation said Tuesday that Clark County continues to show a greater effect from the COVID-19 pandemic than other parts of the state. Unemployment in the Las Vegas area was 15.5% last month. A year ago, the figure was 4.1%. The department said the jobless rate in Reno was 7.2% in August and mining jobs helped lower the out-of-work figure in the Elko area to 4.7%.
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