Sisolak asks Trump to declare major disaster in Nevada due to coronavirus

CARSON CITY — Gov. Steve Sisolak has asked President Donald Trump to declare a major disaster in Nevada amid the spread of the new coronavirus.

If approved, the move would allow the state to tap into additional federal resources and emergency protective measures under the national emergency Trump declared last month. The request was sent Tuesday and announced by the governor’s office on Wednesday.

“The COVID-19 public health crisis in Nevada is of such severity and scale that the effective response is beyond the capabilities of the state, local and tribal governments, and supplementary federal assistance is needed to save lives, protect public health, and help Nevada recover from the incomprehensible economic impacts that have resulted from this global pandemic,” Sisolak said in a statement. “I am asking the president and federal government to help Nevada respond and recover effectively and efficiently by providing federal assistance.”

The request follows the statewide emergency declaration by Sisolak for Nevada on March 12, which was a required step in order to later tap into the federal relief funds and programs.

The Nevada Division of Emergency Management is asking the state to approve $6.25 million in emergency funds to help battle the COVID-19 pandemic in the state. Nevada had recorded 1,279 reported cases and 31 deaths from the virus as of Wednesday morning.

One request is for $1.25 million, which would cover the state’s portion of an anticipated grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, related to Trump’s national emergency declaration. The other $5 million would go toward helping the state’s emergency response team “act quickly and responsively” in purchasing needed medical supplies and other assistance it can provide to the state.

The state’s Board of Examiners approved the requests during an emergency meeting that was held by teleconference Wednesday afternoon. The requests still need approval from the Legislature’s Interim Finance Committee.

Both requests would come from the state’s disaster relief account. That account currently sits at roughly $12.7 million, Susan Brown, director of the Governor’s Finance Office, said during the meeting. The requests would leave roughly $6.6 million in the state’s relief account.

Contact Capital Bureau Chief Colton Lochhead at clochhead@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ColtonLochhead on Twitter.