Las Vegas follows LA’s lead in recommending indoor mask requirement

Las Vegas is following Los Angeles’s lead in recommending masks indoors for the vaccinated and unvaccinated.

The Southern Nevada Health District announced Friday that it wants individuals to mask up regardless of vaccination status due to the rise of coronavirus cases in the area.

“With the rise in cases and slowing vaccine rates in Clark County, the Health District’s recommendation to wear masks in crowded public settings, including grocery stores, malls, large events, and casinos, is a step to fully utilize the tools we have available to stop the pandemic,” the statement reads.

The move comes after Los Angeles County announced on Thursday that masks will be required in most indoor settings regardless of vaccination status.

The mayor of Orange County, Fla., also urged unvaccinated and vaccinated residents to wear masks indoors this week.

The switch back to mask mandates comes as cases rise across the country because of the delta variant of the virus and because a large portion of the population remains unvaccinated.

Nevada has seen a surge in hospitalizations, positivity rates and daily coronavirus cases over the last two weeks.

Jeff Zients, head of the White House’s coronavirus task force, said on Friday that the federal government will be sending 100 personnel to Nevada to help with vaccination efforts.

Almost half of the residents who are eligible for the coronavirus vaccine have not received it.