Nevada plugs budget hole while officials mark virus uptick

With more casinos and businesses reopening and health officials charting a recent uptick in COVID-19 cases, Nevada lawmakers on Friday approved Gov. Steve Sisolak’s plan to plug an $812 million budget deficit blamed on the pandemic.

The Legislature’s Interim Finance Committee voted 15-7 along party lines to approve the Democratic governor’s plan, with Republicans united against it because it draws more than $400 million from state reserve funds.

The governor also imposed 4% across-the-board cuts, state employee furloughs and salary freezes. He is earmarking cuts in other funds, including some $265 million in future education spending, $25 million from a University of Las Vegas medical school building.

State tax revenues plunged after Sisolak closed business and casinos in mid-March to prevent people from gathering and spreading COVID-19.

Sisolak last month loosened restrictions on businesses and allowed casinos to reopen June 4 at half-capacity.

MGM Resorts International has announced plans to reopen its Luxor, Mandalay Bay, Four Seasons Las Vegas and ARIA resorts to join Bellagio, MGM Grand and New York-New York, which opened earlier. Excalibur opened Thursday.

Caesars Entertainment reopened the The Linq casino on Friday with the hotel portion still closed, and restarted the High Roller observation wheel at the Linq Promenade, with a limit of 10 passengers per cabin. Caesars Palace, Flamingo and Harrah’s Las Vegas are open.

Sisolak is promising to consider more reopenings next week, but has also warned he might restore restrictions if there is a resurgence of the virus.

State health officials have marked an increase in confirmed cases of COVID-19, but the Nevada coronavirus response chief, Caleb Cage, has declined to call it a second-wave virus outbreak. Cage on Thursday said the rate of Nevadans testing positive for COVID-19 stood at 5.4% — well under the 10% rate recommended by the World Health Organization.

The state Department of Health and Human Services charted an above-average rise in daily positive cases this week, including seven consecutive days of increased hospitalizations. But officials attributed some of the increase to expanded testing, which has pushed to more than 229,000 the number of tests administered.

State health officials on Friday tallied nearly 10,700 confirmed cases of COVID-19 statewide, and at least 462 deaths.

For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up in two to three weeks. Older adults and people with existing health problems can face severe illness and death. The vast majority of people recover.

In Las Vegas, health officials reported a first diagnosis of a pediatric inflammatory illness that may be associated with the new coronavirus.

The Southern Nevada Health District said a child who tested positive for COVID-19 was hospitalized and treated for Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children. The unidentified child was later discharged and is recovering.

A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory about the syndrome warns of symptoms including fever, abdominal pain without another explanation, diarrhea, vomiting, rash, red or cracked lips, bumpy tongue and swollen hands and feet.

The health district said not all children exhibit the same symptoms and advised parents to seek immediate emergency care if their child has trouble breathing or experiences severe chest or stomach pain.