County Bar Owners Urged to Join Local COVID-19 Coalition
Regional partners in Washoe County working with industry on safe reopening procedures
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775.328.2427
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UPDATE 3 p.m. Sept. 10, 2020
The Nevada COVID-19 Mitigation and Management Task Force voted to reopen bars, taverns, pubs, breweries and wineries to reopen no later than Wednesday, Sept. 16 at 11:59 p.m.
Original release:
Reno/Sparks, NV – The Regional Information Center is urging bar, tavern, pub, brewery and winery owners in Washoe County to join a local COVID-19 coalition that is working with local jurisdictions to come up with plans to reopen bars safely with COVID-19 mitigation measures.
The Washoe County Bar/Taproom Coalition drafted guidelines to reopen safely based off standards from other states where bars are open and Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) guidance. The Washoe County Health District reviewed the plans and made recommendations that were agreed upon. The local jurisdictions will submit these plans to the Nevada COVID-19 Mitigation and Management Task Force for today’s meeting. That task force will decide if bars can open in Washoe County.
“The regional agencies in Washoe County are working with bar owners on COVID-19 mitigation measures so they can open safely,” Washoe County Manager Eric Brown said. “We need input and buy-in from all our bar, tavern, pub, brewery and winery owners to make that happen.”
More than 30 local bar owners have signed an operating agreement to work together with local officials to create and implement COVID-19 safety operating procedures. Bar owners who wish to be included in the coalition discussions should contact Matt Johnson, co-founder of IMBĪB, at matt@imbibreno.com.
“Bars in Washoe County have been closed or doing to-go sales only for 24 of the last 26 weeks. This is having a huge impact on business owners, their staffs and all the families involved as many have lost more than 50% of their normal revenue,” Johnson said. “We appreciate the local entities working with us. Given the opportunity, bar owners are more than prepared to serve those in Washoe County and do so in a manner with strict protocols and protections for customers and employees.”
The COVID-19 Regional Information Center is working together to deliver COVID-19 community updates in a unified manner. While press releases are only sent periodically for significant events, you can always get daily results on our website, https://covid19washoe.com/, our COVID-19 Dashboard or by following us on Twitter @COVID19Washoe. The entities include: City of Reno, City of Sparks, North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District, Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, Regional Transportation Commission, REMSA, Reno Sparks Indian Colony, Reno Police Department, Reno Fire Department, Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District, University of Nevada, Reno, Washoe County, Washoe County Health District, Washoe County School District and Washoe County Sheriff’s Office. Also in the group are the area hospitals, Northern Nevada Medical Center, Renown Health and Saint Mary’s.