Nevada Issues Emergency Mask Mandate

The mask reversals continue: Nevada on Tuesday afternoon announced an emergency order, taking effect Friday in 12 of the state's 17 counties, requiring masks in indoor public spaces regardless of vaccination status. The order applies to counties with substantial or high rates of COVID-19 transmission, the Reno Gazette-Journal reports. Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, is among them. The announcement came the same day the CDC also backtracked, recommending that once again masks be worn in indoor settings in areas with high transmission, whether vaccinated or not.

The delta variant is causing a surge in Nevada that has made the state a virus hotspot in recent weeks. Nevada originally dropped virus-related restrictions June 1, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. New cases hit 870 per day on July 24, a level last seen in early February, and up from just 132 on June 9. The positivity rate, which measures the percentage of positive tests among all tests given, has also been rising, from 2.8% on June 7 to 5% on July 10 to 9.1% on July 25 in Washoe County, which includes Reno. The vaccination rate, meanwhile, is low in the state, with nearly 43% of residents having completed their vaccination series, per KTNV. (More Nevada stories.)