The coronavirus pandemic hit the state of Nevada extremely hard, but it appeared that some major relief was coming in early June. Now Nevada is dealing with protests throughout the state, especially in one of the biggest cities in the state.
The death of George Floyd, an African American man killed by police in Minnesota, has sparked outrage throughout the country. Protests and gatherings have taken place in many big cities, and Reno was no exception.
A Black Lives Matter-sponsored campaign began on Saturday with more than 1,000 protestors showing up. The gathering started peacefully in Reno, but by Saturday night, that was not the case.
The city of Las Vegas had 12 officers injured on Friday night, and more than 80 people were arrested as a part of the protests. Cops in Reno were hoping to avoid a similar situation, but protestors made their way to the police headquarters and vandalized the station.
City Hall was also invaded by protestors on Saturday night, and a fire was set at the facility. Tear gas was used by local police to break up the protestors, but there was still plenty of damage that was done.
A curfew was set on Saturday night to keep the protestors to a minimum, but that didn’t work either. The Nevada National Guard has now been called in to help local police protect the city on Sunday night. The mayor of Reno, Hillary Schieve, said the city will not put up with any violence, and the National Guard will help keep that from taking place.
Governor Steve Sisolak has been largely criticized for his response during the coronavirus pandemic, but he is being cheered for sending the National Guard to Reno. Reno city officials requested the National Guard presence, and Sisolak was quick to respond.
A majority of the state has been focused on the city of Las Vegas, but that’s not where a majority of protestors are targeting. Law enforcement officials in Reno are expected to try to protect the casinos, which have all been shut down for more than two months.
Casinos Set to Reopen on Thursday
Despite this new setback, casinos in Reno are still planning to reopen their doors to the general public on Thursday. According to reports, there were no reports of any damage to the casinos in Reno, despite several areas of downtown being hit hard.
The Atlantis Casino Resort Spa and the Peppermill Resort Hotel have announced that they are reopening on June 4, and they have been working hard to get things ready. Both casinos will be operating on a very limited basis, and many new health and safety protocols have been implemented.
Atlantis spent last week testing all of their employees for COVID-19 to clear anyone that plans to come back to work. The Atlantis will also be limiting the number of patrons to just 50 percent of the allowed amount set by fire marshalls.
Employees and guests will both have to submit to temperature checks each time that they try to enter the venue. Anyone with a temperature over 100.4 will be monitored or turned away completely. These policies are similar to what will be taking place in the casinos that are launching on the Las Vegas strip.
Both of these venues were forced to shut down in March to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Governor Steve Sisolak gave the green light to casinos to reopen on June 4, and many of the casinos are taking advantage of this.
