>>> IT HAS BEEN MORE THAN A MONTH SINCE LAS VEGAS WAS SHUT
DOWN BY THE CORONAVIRUS.
WHAT THE NUMBER OF CONFIRMED
CASES CONTINUING TO CLIMB IN
NEVADA, GOVERNOR STEVE SISOLAK
SAYS ANY MOVE TO REOPEN
BUSINESSES WILL BE INCREMENTAL.
BUT FOR SOME, THAT IS NOT FAST
ENOUGH.
ENOUGH. TWO DAYS AGO, HUNDREDS GATHERED
IN PROTEST OF THE CITY’S
CLOSURE.
CLOSURE. THE MOST CONSISTENT PUSHBACK,
THOUGH, HAS COME FROM THE MAYOR
OF LAS VEGAS, WHO HAS RECENTLY
CALLED THE SHUTDOWN INSANITY.
JOINING ME NOW BY PHONE, THE
INDEPENDENT MAYOR OF LAS VEGAS,
CAROLYN GOODMAN.
CAROLYN GOODMAN. MAYOR GOODMAN, THANK YOU VERY
MUCH FOR JOINING US.
I WANT TO ASK YOU ABOUT A BIT OF
PUSHBACK THAT YOU’RE RECEIVING
FROM SOME OF THE MAJOR BUSINESS
LEADERS AND OTHER LEADERS IN
YOUR CITY.
YOUR CITY. WYNN RESORT CEO MATT MADDOX
CALLED -- HE SAID THIS IN AN
OP-ED.
OP-ED. I COMMEND OUR GOVERNOR FOR
MAKING THE DIFFICULT DECISION
AND TAKING EARLY ACTION IN THE
FIGHT AGAINST COVID-19.
I BELIEVE HIS DECISIONS SAVED
LIVES.
LIVES. AND EARLIER TODAY, STEVEN
CLEBOOK, THE CHAIRMAN AND CEO OF
DIAMOND RESORTS INTERNATIONAL
HAD THIS TO SAY ABOUT YOUR
RECENT STANCE ON REOPENING THE
ECONOMY.
ECONOMY. TAKE A LISTEN.
>> MAYOR GOODMAN IS THE MAYOR OF
THE CITY OF LAS VEGAS DOWNTOWN.
SHE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE
STRIP.
STRIP. AND WE’RE SICK AND TIRED OF
HEARING THIS.
HEARING THIS. THE PERSON IN CHARGE OF THE
STRIP IS MISS KILLPATRICK AND
SHE’S HEAD OF THE COUNTY
COMMISSION.
COMMISSION. AND THAT’S WHAT RUNS THE STRIP
ONCE AND FOR ALL.
ENOUGH, MAYOR.
ENOUGH, MAYOR. YOU HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE
STRIP.
STRIP. >> MAYOR GOODMAN, YOU KEEP
CALLING IT INSANITY.
YOU WANT IT TO REOPEN.
WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THAT
PUSHBACK?
PUSHBACK? >> WELL, HE COULDN’T BE MORE
CORRECT.
CORRECT. AND I’VE KNOWN THE GENTLEMEN FOR
A LONG, LONG TIME.
AND HE’S ABSOLUTELY CORRECT, THE
STRIP IS IN THE UNINCORPORATED
CLARKE COUNTY.
CLARKE COUNTY. ALL I’M TALKING ABOUT IS, THIS
IS A HOSPITALITY SERVICE
INDUSTRY STATE.
INDUSTRY STATE. WE HAVE BUILT THIS BEING VERY
CAREFUL TO MAKE SURE WE’RE
EXPECTING, LICENSING, AND
KEEPING OUR WORKERS EMBRYOED AND
GIVING THE GREAT COMMUNITY THAT
WANTS TO HAVE A GOOD TIME OR
BRING THEIR CONVENTION HERE
SAFE, SECURE, AND HAVING A
HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT.
HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT. WE WOULDN’T BE SO SUCCESSFUL IF
THAT WEREN’T HAPPENING.
AND THERE CLUBEK UNFORTUNATELY
HAS NOT CALLED OR TOLD ME ANY OF
HIS OPINIONS AND I’VE KNOWN HIM
A LONG TIME.
THE REALITY IS, WHAT I ASSUME IS
THAT EVERYBODY IS A CARRIER,
THAT 100% OF OUR POPULATION IS
ASYMPTOMATIC, BUT A CARRIER.
AND SO HOW DO WE MOVE FORWARD?
WHAT DO WE DO TO KEEP OUR PEOPLE
WORKING?
WORKING? TO KEEP OUR PARENTS BEING ABLE
TO PUT FOOD ON THE TABLE, PAY
RENT, AND KEEP A ROOF OVER THEIR
HEAD?
HEAD? THERE ARE SO MANY NOW THAT LIVE
PAYCHECK TO PAYCHECK AND ARE IN
THE SERVICE INDUSTRY, SUPPORTED
BY THESE HOTELS, HAVE NO WAY TO
DO THAT.
DO THAT. THEY CAN’T STAY AT HOME, BECAUSE
THEY DON’T HAVE A HOME.
AND SO THE REALITY IS, THIS IS A
WONDERFUL COMMUNITY THAT HAS
PROVEN ITSELF TO THE WORLD BY
HOW IT CONDUCTS ITSELF, ITS
GAMING, EVERYTHING THAT WE’VE
DONE.
DONE. AND MY WHOLE OPINION IS GET OUR
PEOPLE BACK TO WORK.
THAT’S THE ENTIRE PRESS.
AND IT HAD NOTHING TO DO -- I
HAD NEVER SPOKE ABOUT THE STRIP
BEING OPEN OR CLOSED, BECAUSE
TRULY, HE’S ABSOLUTELY CORRECT,
I HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THAT.
I’M CONCENTRATING ON THE CITY OF
LAS VEGAS WHERE WE’RE READY TO
GET BACK IN BUSINESS, AND
ASSUMING THAT EVERYBODY’S
ASYMPTOMATIC OR IS A CARRIER,
HOW DO WE DO THAT, DO IT SAFELY
AND PROTECT OUR PEOPLE?
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, TAKE CARE
OF OUR ELDERLY, WHO ARE THE MOST
SUSCEPTIBLE TO HAVING A TERRIBLE
EXPERIENCE OR PERHAPS EVEN
DYING.
DYING. AND WE LOVE OUR SENIORS.
I HAPPEN TO BE A SENIOR!
>> MAYOR GOODMAN, HOW DO YOU DO
THAT?
THAT? IF YOU ASSUME EVERYBODY IS AN
ASYMPTOMATIC CARRIER, VEGAS RUNS
ON CROWDS.
ON CROWDS. THEY RUN ON CROWDS IN SMALL
SPACES, INTERACTING WITH EACH
OTHER, USING SLOT MACHINES,
TOUCHING THE SAME THINGS,
BREATHING THE SAME FILTERED AIR
THROUGH THE CASINO.
A LOT OF SMOKERS IN VEGAS MAKING
PEOPLE HIGHLY SUSCEPTIBLE TO
THIS DISEASE.
THIS DISEASE. HOW DO YOU KEEP PEOPLE SAFE?
DO YOU THINK IT’S POSSIBLE?
>> FROM WELL, ABSOLUTELY.
I MEAN, CONSIDER THE FACT THAT
WE HAVE GROWN SO EXPONENTIALLY
HERE OVER THE PAST 40 YEARS,
IT’S BEEN INCREDIBLE.
AND WE’VE SURVIVED THE WEST NILE
AND SPARS, BIRD FLU, THE SWINE,
THE ZIKA VIRUS.
>> THOSE WERE NOT AS CONTAGIOUS
AND THEY DID NOT SPREAD AS FAR
AS THIS DISEASE HAS ALREADY
DONE.
DONE. >> WELL, WE’LL FIND OUT THE
FACTS AFTERWARD.
FACTS AFTERWARD. >> BUT THOSE ARE THE FACTS.
WE HAVE A DEATH TOLL THAT PROVES
IT.
IT. WE HAVE CASES AROUND THE COUNTRY
THAT PROVES IT.
THOSE ARE THE FACTS.
>> WELL, ASSUMING YOU ARE
CORRECT, IT’S THE MASKS, WE DO
DEAL IN CROWDS WITH AND WE HAVE
LIVED THROUGH ALL OF THOSE
HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS DISEASES, AND
YET WE HAVE MANAGED TO CONTINUE
TO HAVE WORLD CONVENTIONS COME
UP HERE AND --
>> MAYOR GOODMAN, THERE’S NO
ASSUMING THAT I AM CORRECT.
THOSE ARE THE NUMBERS RELEASED
BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
MORE THAN 791,000 CASES --
>> -- IN THE STATE OF NEVADA,
WE’RE OVER 3 MILLION PEOPLE AND
WE HAVE 151, SADLY, LOST
INDIVIDUALS.
INDIVIDUALS. >> BUT COULD THAT BE DUE TO THE
FACT THAT YOUR CASINOS AND YOUR
BUSINESSES ARE NOT OPEN RIGHT
NOW AND PEOPLE ARE NOT
INTERACTING?
INTERACTING? >> NO, NO, NO, THEY WERE --
WELL, FROM THE POINT OF, HAS
THERE BEEN A MEASURE, HAS THERE
BEEN A CONTROL GROUP?
WHEN YOU’RE DOING STATISTICS,
CONTROL GROUPS ARE ABSOLUTELY SO
PARAMOUNT.
PARAMOUNT. SO EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE
LOOKED AT, AND WE CERTAINLY
DEFER TO, I LOOK TO DR. FAUCI,
WHO HAS SAID THAT THIS IS A
VIRUS THAT IS GOING TO BE HERE
AND COULD RECUR NEXT YEAR OR
COULD LAST ALL THE WAY THROUGH
INTO DECEMBER.
INTO DECEMBER. SO DO WE ABSOLUTELY KEEP
EVERYBODY OUT OF WORK AND
DESTROY THE LIFE OF PEOPLE AND
OUR CHILDREN AND NEXT GENERATION
BECAUSE WE HAVE A FIGHT ON OUR
HANDS WITH THE VIRUS?
AND I AM MAKING THE ASSUMPTION
THAT EVERYBODY’S A CARRIER, SO
LET’S GO FORWARD, OPEN UP THE
CITY, OPEN UP WHOEVER WANTS TO
OPEN UP, BUT DO IT IN A VERY
RESPONSIBLE, CAUTIOUS WAY.
AND MY FIRST PLACE WOULD HAVE
BEEN, OBVIOUSLY, AS SOON AS WE
KNEW IT WAS SENIOR BOUND, WAS TO
GO IN AND PROTECT THE SENIORS.
AND WE KNOW LITTLE CHILDREN
CARRY GERMS, BECAUSE THEY’RE IN
SCHOOL, THE LITTLER THE CHILD,
THE MORE THEY COME HOME WITH
GERMS.
GERMS. THE TIME YOU START YOUR CHILD IN
KINDERGARTEN, YOU ARE FIGHTING
GERMS.
GERMS. AND BACK IN, IT GOES RIGHT
THROUGH THE FAMILY AND BACK TO
SCHOOL AGAIN THEY GO TO THE NEXT
GERM.
GERM. SO MY THING IS NOT A NEGATIVE, A
POSITIVE.
POSITIVE. HOW DO WE MOVE FORWARD?
ASSUME EVERYBODY HAS IT AND WE
DON’T HAVE TO WORRY SO MUCH
ABOUT THE TESTING
AUTHENTICATION, BECAUSE THERE’S
NO TREATMENT RIGHT NOW.
AND IT WOULD APPLY TO ALL OF US
WHO ARE SITTING OUT THERE,
THINKING, WELL, MAYBE I HAD IT
IN JANUARY, BECAUSE I HAD THESE
SYMPTOMS, AND WHAT DO I DO IF WE
ASSUME EVERYBODY IS A GERM
CARRIER, WHAT DO THEY DO WHEN
THEY’RE SICK?
THEY’RE SICK? THE THING IS, LOOK AT THE
VARIOUS SYMPTOMS THAT ARE
CARRIED AND DO WHAT YOU’RE TOLD.
CONTACT YOUR DOCTOR.
AND ONLY WHEN THE HOSPITALS ARE
TELLING US AND THE DOCTORS ARE
TELLING US DIFFERENT PIECES OF
INFORMATION, THIS IS WHAT YOU DO
WHEN YOU’RE SICK.
AND SO AS WE GO TO CONTROL IT,
ASSUME EVERYBODY IS A CARRIER.
AND THEN YOU START FROM AN EVEN
SLIGHT, RIGHT THERE, AND TELL
THE PEOPLE WHAT TO DO.
AND LET THE BUSINESSES OPEN AND
COMPETITION WILL DESTROY THAT
BUSINESS IF, IN FACT, THEY ARE
BECOME EVIDENT THAT THEY HAVE
DISEASE, THEY’RE CLOSED DOWN.
IT’S THAT SIMPLE.
WE INSPECT ALL THE TIME.
WE LICENSE ALL THE TIME.
WE HAVE THINGS IN PLACE TO MAKE
SURE THAT THE HYGIENE’S THERE.
WE HAVE PEOPLE THAT GO INTO
RESTAURANTS TO EXAMINE, SEE IF
THEY’RE CLEAN.
THEY’RE CLEAN. AND THAT’S WHY THE HOTELS ARE SO
SUCCESSFUL HERE IN THE
RESTAURANTS, BECAUSE THEY HAVE
ABSOLUTELY ADHERED TO HYGIENE
AND GOOD HYGIENE.
>> THAT’S A MODERN DAY SURVIVAL