Las Vegas, Clark County declare emergencies due to coronavirus

Clark County and a handful of Southern Nevada cities declared emergencies on Sunday night, amid growing coronavirus concerns, according to a statement from the county.

Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas, Mesquite and Boulder City joined the county in declaring emergencies “to better manage the coronavirus situation and its associated impacts to hospital emergency rooms, local government agencies, local businesses, residents and visitors,” the statement said.

The county also announced that all Clark County Commission meetings for the month of March have been canceled.

The decision came after Gov. Steve Sisolak declared a state of emergency in Nevada on Thursday and President Donald Trump declared a national emergency on Friday.

The declaration will provide assistance for the local governments as they manage response and recovery efforts, according to the statement.

“The current situation involving the coronavirus requires some administrative leniency in the enforcement of ordinances, rules, regulations, purchasing and other government functions,” the statement said.

Contact Alexis Egeland at aegeland@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0335. Follow @alexis_egeland on Twitter.