CARSON CITY (KTNV) — The legislative building in Carson City today updated its COVID-19 protocols and starting May 20 the building will reopen to Nevadans without an appointment.
Legislative Counsel Bureau Director Brenda Erdoes released the following statement regarding an increase in capacity to the Nevada Legislative Building in Carson City"
“Today we are announcing that effective immediately, Legislators, staff, and other persons in the Legislative Building who are fully vaccinated may choose whether to wear a mask and socially distance within the Legislative Building. Unvaccinated Legislators, staff, and other persons in the Legislative Building must continue to wear a mask in any public area of the building but may remove the mask when in an office with the door closed. Beginning tomorrow, the Legislative Building will also be fully open to any person without a reservation or appointment after obtaining a badge. These protocols have been updated based on new CDC guidance.”
Legislators, staff, and other persons in the Legislative Building who are fully vaccinated may choose whether to wear a mask and socially distance within the Legislative Building. In accordance with CDC guidelines, a person is considered fully vaccinated 2 weeks or more after receiving the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, or 2 weeks or more after receiving the single-dose Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 vaccine.
Unvaccinated Legislators, staff, and other persons in the Legislative Building, which include any person who has not completed one of the above-mentioned vaccine regimens, must continue to wear a mask in any public area of the building but may remove the mask when in an office with the door closed.
According to the new guidance from the CDC, fully vaccinated people incur minimal risks by moving about indoors and outdoors without a face mask and also pose little risk of transmitting the virus to unvaccinated people. Nevada OSHA also issued guidance to employers requiring employers to provide face masks for unvaccinated employees and requires employers to enforce the requirement that employees wear face masks at work. Therefore, any Legislator or staff who is not fully vaccinated must continue to wear a face mask while in the Legislative Building in accordance with that requirement and should also follow other safety protocols recommended by the CDC to avoid infection. Face masks continue to be available free of charge at the entry points to the Legislative Building.
Beginning May 20 the Legislative Building will also now be open to any person without a reservation or appointment after obtaining a badge. To obtain a badge, a person must show verification that he or she is fully vaccinated or demonstrate a negative COVID-19 test. Testing will continue to be made available free of charge at the mobile tents on 6th Street across from the Legislative Building. Masks will also be provided free of charge to visitors to the Legislative Building who are not fully vaccinated.
