Southern Nevada businesses get better at COVID-19 safety compliance

Southern Nevada businesses have had an 87 percent compliance rate for following COVID-19 health and safety requirements since Gov. Steve Sisolak’s June 26 mandate, the state Division of Industrial Relations announced Monday.

It’s an improvement from the 80 percent compliance rate OSHA reported in mid-July.

State OSHA officials found that 94 percent of businesses in southern Nevada, between July 27 and July 31, were in compliance with the governor’s mandate.

Since the pandemic, OSHA inspectors visited more than 4,596 businesses across the state, observing whether a business complies with face covering, social distancing, sanitation, and other requirements laid out in Sisolak’s directive.

Some business groups like the Henderson Chamber of Commerce are providing free, reusable face coverings to small businesses and nonprofits having a hard time finding personal protective equipments, and hopes to help increase compliance.

“We’re hoping that everyone continues to really just embrace the concept of wearing a mask,” said Scott Muelrath, the chamber’s president and CEO. “As a community, we need to all be involved in this to limit the virus spread.”

To date, the chamber assisted over 550 small businesses and distributed 9,400 masks.

Contact Jonathan Ng at jng@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ByJonathanNg on Twitter.