Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak announced the state would no longer require people to wear face coverings in all indoor public places, adding to a nationwide cascade of COVID-19 policy reversals in the past week. 

Sisolak pointed to a decline in case counts and hospitalizations, along with the broader availability of coronavirus testing, among the reasons why he felt it was time to ditch masks.

"I’m doing what I think is best to protect the health and welfare of the residents of the state of Nevada," he said, noting that decision was based on science, "balancing all the factors and all the data that’s been presented to me." 

The decision, which took effect immediately, does not apply to public transportation, airports, hospitals, health care clinics and other places serving vulnerable populations.

Private businesses, like casinos, and school districts may also mandate masks, though the state would not require them for teachers as of Friday.

"If a particular school board wants to go further, or a particular business wants to go further than my directive has, and require masks and various things, they're entitled to do that," Sisolak said.

Some casino workers will keep wearing masks
After Sisolak’s announcement, the Nevada Gaming Control Board quickly followed with an order lifting the face-covering rule for casinos "unless a local jurisdiction still imposes such a requirement."

MGM Resorts promptly pivoted. "Effective immediately, guests and employees are no longer required to wear masks indoors or outdoors," MGM Resorts CEO & President Bill Hornbuckle wrote in a letter to employees, noting exceptions where government-issued mandates remain in place in Massachusetts, Maryland and Michigan.

MGM's Nevada properties include ARIA, Bellagio, Delano, Excalibur, Luxor, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, Park MGM, The Mirage, New York-New York, Vdara and T-Mobile Arena. Mask requirements were also lifted at MGM Resorts in Mississippi, New Jersey, New York and Ohio. 

Wynn Resorts Ltd., which operates Wynn Las Vegas and Encore, will also no longer require masks inside its Las Vegas properties. 

The Strip's newest megaresort, Resorts World Las Vegas,went so far as to post a video about the end of the mask mandate on Twitter, mixing a clip of Sisolak's announcement with shots of guests partying at its clubs.