The following is a timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in Nevada.
Timeline
2020
March 2020
On March 5, 2020, Nevada reported its first case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The patient, a man in his 50s, recently traveled to Washington state and lives in Las Vegas.
On March 12, 2020, because of concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic, Nevada governor Steve Sisolak declared a state of emergency. Nevada became the 24th state to do so because of the pandemic. Sisolak also formed a medical advisory team.
On March 13, 2020, courts in the state began taking actions to protect people from infection. This included social distancing and the suspension of certain proceedings. Some court hearings continued through videoconference.
On March 15, 2020, MGM Resorts and Wynn Resorts announced that they would close their properties on the Las Vegas Strip to help prevent the spread of the virus. A day later, Nevada reported its first death from the coronavirus: a man in his 60s, from Las Vegas.
On March 17, 2020, Sisolak ordered all non-essential businesses closed for 30 days, starting on March 18, in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Casinos were among businesses ordered to shut down. More than 40 emergency food distribution sites were set up around the Las Vegas Valley to help unemployed people affected by the closures, and many casino companies donated un-used food from their resorts.
Las Vegas mayor Carolyn Goodman opposed the length of Sisolak's shutdown order and instead called for a closure of 8 to 10 days, saying that Las Vegas could not survive beyond that. Grocery stores, hardware stores, pharmacies, banks, and gas stations were among businesses considered essential. Police, fire, and healthcare services continued as well. With precautions in place, construction sites were also allowed to continue operations, as Sisolak said they provided much-needed employment during the pandemic. Clark County closed nearly all of its government buildings to the public for the next two and a half months.
On March 24, 2020, Sisolak prohibited stockpiling of the anti-malarial drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil), both of which were being studied as possible treatments for coronavirus. He also banned gatherings of 10 people or more, in an effort to further prevent the spread of coronavirus.
On March 28, 2020, Las Vegas and Clark County opened a temporary homeless shelter in the parking lot of Cashman Field, after another shelter closed temporarily due to a COVID-19 case. The parking lot was originally laid out with carpeting, which was removed the following day over concerns that it could not be disinfected. Instead, white boxes were painted on the parking lot surface, indicating where homeless people would sleep while maintaining social distancing of six feet. The parking lot sleeping arrangement caused controversy as to why the homeless could not be sheltered elsewhere, such as the closed hotel resorts in the city. Clark County negotiated to put the homeless in hotels, but such a deal did not work out. A Las Vegas city official also noted that the city does not own any hotels, and that none of them were staffed anyway due to the coronavirus-related closures. The actual Cashman Field facility had already been reserved as potential space for hospital overflow patients. The Cashman Field parking lot reopened a few weeks later as a tented isolation and quarantine complex, treating overflow hospital patients and homeless people infected with coronavirus.
On March 29, 2020, Washoe County reported its first death: a hospitalized man in his 40s who had recently traveled to New York City. It was the first coronavirus death to occur in northern Nevada.
April 2020
On April 1, 2020, Sisolak extended the closure of non-essential businesses through the end of the month, in accordance with new federal guidelines issued by the White House Coronavirus Task Force. Sisolak also issued a statewide directive urging residents to stay home, except for essential reasons such as healthcare visits and buying food. The Federal Emergency Management Agency approved a major disaster declaration for Nevada.
During April 2020, Sisolak activated the Nevada National Guard to help deliver medical supplies. Within a few weeks, he announced that an additional 700 members of the National Guard would join the coronavirus efforts. Most of them would be stationed in Las Vegas, where they would set up alternate care facilities, help with food banks, and provide medical support.