EDITORIAL: Gov. Sisolak hits pause: It could have been worse

It wasn’t a cause for celebration, but it was better than the alternative. That seems to be the consensus of the Southern Nevada business community in the wake of new coronavirus restrictions announced Sunday by Gov. Steve Sisolak. “My goal is to aggressively try to attack this spread,” the governor said, “while maintaining some portion of our economy and our daily lives.”

To that end, Gov. Sisolak rejected another shutdown like the one imposed in March. The vast majority of businesses may stay open, albeit many establishments — primarily restaurants and bars — must endure a further decrease in capacity, down to 25 percent. Stricter mask mandates and tighter limits on gatherings are also part of the mix.

Some of the new orders are symbolic — an effort by the governor to use his bully pulpit to change behavior. How is it possible, for instance, to enforce a mask requirement for private gatherings without employing heavy-handed tactics that infringe on constitutional protections?

Other directives were somewhat odd. The governor again nixed youth sports despite the fact that the young are far less susceptible to COVID-19 and there have been few, if any, known instances of transmission on the athletic field. He also ordered restaurants and bars to no longer accept walk-in traffic and to require reservations. Does that include Taco Bell and McDonald’s? Are local taverns, even if they serve food, required to turn away customers who haven’t called ahead to reserve a seat at the bar?

No doubt many businesses are scrambling to interpret these new edicts. The Sisolak administration should make it a priority to be forthcoming with interpretations and guidance for establishments seeking to comply in good faith. The goal of local regulators and inspectors should also be to weed out the bad actors rather than to punish stores with minor violations. The vast majority of business owners are seeking to do the right thing; Southern Nevada leaders reported to state officials last week that they have found a nearly 98 percent compliance rate during 115,000 inspections since March.

But give Gov. Steve Sisolak credit for his measured and prudent approach. It’s doubtful the state’s economy could have survived a heavy hand. Putting thousands of workers again on the unemployment line would have only compounded the emotional and social toll already inflicted by the virus. Eight months into this pandemic, it’s heartening to see politicians realize that it’s possible to limit the spread of COVID and to protect the vulnerable without exacerbating economic stress through draconian government edicts.

Gov. Sisolak will revisit the new mandates in three weeks. In the meantime, as they struggle for their survival, many business owners are no doubt relieved. After all, it could have been worse.