Local businesses and tourism have been heavily impacted by the novel coronavirus, and many cities that benefit from visitors have advocated reopening despite COVID-19 concerns since lockdowns were first put in place, including Las Vegas. Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman has consistently advocated for the city to open amid the pandemic and even argued that the chance of risk could not be compared without a “control group” that did not follow social distancing.
Opening up casinos and the city to tourists nationwide doesn’t come without consequences, and Nevada now struggles with one of the highest rates of new infections, according to NPR. Just months after Sin City reopened its doors to visitors, data shows an increase in the COVID-19 positivity rate, with more than 15% of tests coming back positive. An analysis of cell phone data requested by ProPublica also found that thousands of people visited Las Vegas before returning to their home states amid the pandemic, contributing to a possible surge in cases nationwide.
