Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman made national news when she called Governor Sisolak’s sweeping nonessential business closures “total insanity.” The mayor continues to push Governor Sisolak to reopen Nevada to aid its economic recovery.
“This shutdown has become one of total insanity in my opinion, for there is no backup of data as to why we are shut down from the start, no plan in place on how to move through the shutdown or how even to come out of it,” Mayor Goodman said.
Heated Debates with National Media
Mayor Goodman’s observations drew widespread criticism from the national media. In response, Goodman agreed to an interview with CNN anchor Anderson Cooper. During that interview, the CNN anchor asked Goodman about her stance on social distancing in regards to reopening the casinos. She responded by saying, “That’s up to the casinos to figure out. I don’t run a casino.”
Cooper challenged the mayor’s call the reopen Nevada with a Chinese study regarding how the virus spreads in restaurants. The mayor responded saying, “This isn’t China. This is Las Vegas, Nevada.” Cooper then called the mayor ignorant. Goodman countered by pointing to the Legionnaires outbreak in 1976, and she also pointed out that her city effectively dealt with Ebola and West Nile virus.
“My days are so full”, Goodman told Cooper. “I’m everywhere in Las Vegas, trying to hold the hands of families and everyone else, trying to get them back to work so they can pay for food for their children and keep a roof over their heads.”
“You’re talking disease, I’m talking life,” Goodman told Cooper. “I’m talking about life and living.”
Previous to the interview with Anderson Cooper, Mayor Goodman appeared on MSNBC with Katy Tur. “We’ve survived SARS, the West Nile virus, bird flu, swine flu, E. coli, the Zika virus,” the mayor pointed out.
However, her points were cut off by Tur, who told the mayor that other viruses don’t compare to the novel coronavirus. “Those were not as contagious,” Tur asserted. “Those were not as contagious and they didn’t spread as fast as this disease has.”
“Well, we’ll find out the real facts afterward,” Goodman countered. “Unfortunately, we’ll do better in hindsight.”
During the MSNBC interview, the Las Vegas mayor said that assuming Tur was right about the COVID-19 data, her city’s ability to cope with large numbers of people was a good reason enough to reopen.
“We do deal with crowds and we have lived through a lot of other viruses, as well as highly contagious diseases. Yet, we managed to continue having wonderful conventions here,” she said.
Mayor Goodman Bucking the Trend
The mayor’s stance is in contrast to the opinions of the national media and some health professionals, who continue to push self-quarantine and social distancing and measures.
Referring to the medical experts she has spoken with, Goodman pointed out that the coronavirus will simply “be part of what we must work through to go forward.” She also said that the novel coronavirus was not unlike the flu, and that the time had come to resume to normal life.
“We can’t put our heads in the sand and think this is going to go away,” she said. “We’re adults with brains. We know how to wash our hands, to take all the precautions we need to not to spread this disease.”
And while she offered her condolences to those who lost loved ones to the pandemic, she also pointed out that those who have died from the disease are only a small fraction of the state’s population.
“Let me tell you, with a population of 3.2 million in Nevada, those whom we lost to the virus represent less than half of one percent of our population. This has caused us to shut down our entire state and everything that makes Nevada unique,” she said.
Mayor Goodman feels that this “cure” could ultimately be worse than the disease itself. She pointed to the increased levels of depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and suicide that the lockdowns would cause. Also, the record levels of unemployment and the devastation of small businesses would exacerbate the problems caused by poverty.
Due to these factors, she believes that businesses must be reopened throughout Nevada. Doing so would limit the negative effect the shutdown has had on small businesses and families. Likewise, the state’s tourism industry must reopen because “being closed is killing us already.”
“The longer we wait to reopen the more impossible it will be to recover and return Las Vegas and Nevada to the home we all know and love,” she said, at the beginning of a City Council meeting.
Governor Sisolak Does Not Respond
Governor Steve Sisolak did not immediately respond to the mayor’s remarks. However, he eventually responded by saying, “Las Vegas is a great place to come and enjoy yourself and have a great time, just not today. Today is not the day,” the Governor said. “But when the days comes, we’ll welcome everyone back with open arms, and the city will continue to be one of the safest places in the world to come and visit.”
The governor has faced some criticism for not having a concrete plan on how and when to reopen not only Las Vegas, but the state of Nevada.
When asked if he plans to extend his stay-at-home order beyond the original date of April 30, 2020, he responded by saying, “Well, clearly it’s going to have to be extended for some things. I mean, we’re not going to open up The Strip. I worked with Chair of the Gaming Control Board, and we’re certainly not reopening the Strip,” the governor said. “What will be done, if possible, is to have some opening restrictions by then (April 30, 2020) but I don’t ‘know right now. If you ask me today, no, I can’t say that we’re opening up. But if you ask me in a week, well maybe we’ll start to see that the trajectory of the disease is going downward. We’ll know that when we get a couple of days out, but we’re not there yet. I don’t want to give anybody any false hope.”
