By Dave Maxwell
MCIN

Mineral County commissioners dealt with the governor’s Phase I plan to allow many businesses in the state to reopen following specific guidelines.
In published reports, Gov. Steve Sisolak announced on May 7 plans to begin gradually lifting stay-at-home orders and business closures.
Sisolak issued emergency orders Mar. 12 to prevent COVID-19 from overwhelming the state’s already-stressed health care system.
The report noted the Nevada United: Roadmap to Recovery, “will chart a gradual course to restoring normalcy in the Silver State. The plan will include relaxed social distancing orders and also allow county officials to tailor some restrictions to suit their jurisdictions.”
Mineral County reported as of May 12, there were four confirmed positive cases of the virus in the county, but Emergency Management Director Pat Hughes said, “of those positives, they have all recovered. And here in Mineral County we have actually been going really well. Haven’t had any problem with any of the businesses and we are constantly putting out new information that we receive from the federal government and the state department. All of the directives are listed on the Mineral County website: www.mineralcountynv.us.
Businesses in the county that have not been open, but are now being allowed to, are asked to submit a plan for how they will comply with all the guidelines of Phase I to Sheriff Adams.
Hughes said, “As long as that plan meets all the mandatory requirements on the check list and have signed the plan, I can review it and hopefully give approval and send a copy to the Sheriff’s department.”
In his statement Sisolak expressed sympathy with residents who are feeling frustrated by the disruptions to business and their everyday lives, but cautioned that if the state were to reopen all at once, cases of COVID-19 could easily spike.
“Because we’ve done such a good job, the threat of COVID-19 feels distant and abstract,” he said. “But I have the unfortunate responsibility to remind all of us that the threat remains real.”
The published report stated Sisolak has formed a Local Empowerment Advisory Panel, which will coordinate recovery efforts between state and local officials. The panel will be led by Clark County Commission chairwoman Marilyn Kirkpatrck, who will represent urban counties, and Eureka County Commission chair J. J. Goicoechea, who will advocate for rural parts of the state.
“It would be a disservice to the residents and businesses in our state to pretend like Esmeralda County is the same as Nye County, or that Clark is the same as Elko,” Sisolak said. “They’re not! And that’s okay.”
But the process of reopening the state is not likely to end quickly, Sisolak cautioned. Each phase will last at least two weeks, to allow officials time to monitor their progress.