Las Vegas is a mecca for those who love taking risks, and now a new risk has hit Sin City: coronavirus. COVID-19 has infected nearly 100,000 and killed over 3,300 people globally, and now the first confirmed case of coronavirus has appeared in Las Vegas. Casino workers are nervous and casino owners are on high alert as they begin taking hygienic precautions against infection.
Casinos and Conventions at Risk
Las Vegas is not only a gambling capital of the Western hemisphere; it is also a major hub for commercial conventions and trade shows. As a result, several global trade shows and conventions have shut down rather than allowing the usual thousands of global businesspeople to mingle in crowded spaces.
And casinos are riskier than usual as bustling places crammed with people for hours at a time. However, casino workers are extra busy making a show of cleanliness in the face of the global pandemic. While party people continue gambling with reckless abandon, employees discreetly spritz machines and tables with antiseptic every hour or two.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) is taking similar steps to protect against infection in the few convention halls remaining open. The agency has applied extra cleaning procedures including frequent sterilization of door handles, handrails, elevator buttons, and restrooms. Food service workers have also been instructed to frequently wash their hands, and hand sanitizers have appeared in all dining areas.
Presumptive Positive
The first case of coronavirus in Las Vegas is a man in his 50s who had recently traveled to Texas and Washington. He tested “presumptive positive” for coronavirus and was sent to the CDC for official confirmation. Since the coronavirus incubation period isn’t immediate, a potentially infected person tests presumptively positive until 48 hours later, when virus experts in specialized medical units can provide an official diagnosis and confirmation.
Most cases involve thorough checks for recent travel to affected regions or contact with infected people. However, due to the nature of the bug, it can lie dormant in a victim while infecting others. It can be difficult to pin down, especially when someone has not recently traveled or been in known contact with sick people. Therefore, it is especially important to regularly wash hands and clean public surfaces where the virus can lurk.
Recently a casino employee of the Wildhorse Casino in Oregon contracted coronavirus, resulting in the closure of an entire Indian reservation in Umatilla County, northeastern Oregon. The man had not traveled recently, and a school was shut down after the infected man attended a sporting event there.
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