Silver State Times

Nevada's leaders have failed the citizens of the state regarding their public health messaging around COVID-19 and the continued insistence by some that mandates should continue, according to one limited government policy analyst.

Gov. Steve Sisolak has, instead, formally abdicated his role and outsourced these decisions to the unelected and unaccountable federal bureaucrats at the Centers for Disease Control, said Robert Fellner, policy director at the free market Nevada Policy Research Institute, which also advocates for limited government.

"Nevadans have not had leadership of any sort during this period," Fellner told the Silver State Times. "As such, I suspect there may be a push for renewed mandates of some sort, as scientifically baseless as they may be."

Robert Fellner | Nevada Policy Research Institute

Sisolak announced a reinstatement of mask mandates for counties said by the state to have “substantial or high rates of transmission of COVID-19,” the Las Vega Review-Journal reported. The mandate applies to all “public indoor spaces."

The new mandate defines “indoor public spaces” as “any indoor area where other people who are not members of your own household are present.” There are some exemptions, including children younger than 9.

Earlier this week the governor said large indoor venues in cities like Las Vegas and Reno will be allowed to opt out of the state’s mask requirements if they verify their guests are vaccinated, according to the Associated Press.

Las Vegas business owners are worried how the new mandate will affect their income, 8 News Now reported.

Fellner argues that the public health establishment has failed on an unprecedented level when it comes to messaging and communicating with the public.

"Requiring the vaccinated to wear masks is yet another example of that, as it suggests vaccines are ineffective," he said.

Fellner said there is no clear evidence that masks make a difference. It's another illustration of why public health agencies are losing people's trust, he said.

The Centers for Disease Control says mask wearing cuts down substantially on the spread of COVID-19, and that those fully vaccinated should wear a mask indoors in areas of substantial or high transmission due to the delta variant.

Public health officials rely on weak studies, ignore the contradictory ones, and then declare as fact that masks mandates are guided by science, Fellner said, adding that "this is politics, not science."

"While the delta variant is more transmissible, the fact that the vulnerable have been mostly vaccinated already means the death rate is falling," he said. "This reflects both the effectiveness of vaccines and the fact that COVID has always been a threat to the sick and elderly, not the young and healthy. But, for whatever reason, the press and politicians prefer to keep the public constantly terrorized and afraid, so the focus is always on the negative, devoid of context."

Dr. Joel Zinberg, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, who worked for 30 years at Mt. Sinai Hospital told the New York Post that “ordering lockdowns or mask mandates for the entire population defies common sense.” He said the variant, especially when affecting vaccinated people, poses a very low threat of hospitalization and death.