Las Vegas Will Work on Employee COVID-19 Testing Program

Las Vegas Will Work on Employee COVID-19 Testing Program

Casinos in Las Vegas recently announced a COVID-19 employee testing program that will scan employees for coronavirus before they could return to work.

The Strip casinos take initiative

The initiative is undertaken by Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts- two of the largest casino operators on The Strip. Boyd Gaming is also involved with the efforts. They have partnered with the Las Vegas Convention Center, Culinary Health Fund and the University Medical Center (UMC) to provide coronavirus testing to all gaming employees.

The operators aim to test 4,000 gaming workers every day as their properties get ready to open their casinos. The results of the tests will be available within 48 hours. All the workers who test positive will be referred to the Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD) for contact tracing.

Bill Hornbuckle, acting CEO and president of MGM Resorts International,

“The ability to safely reopen our properties has been our singular focus over the past several weeks. This testing partnership will allow us to provide our employees and guests peace of mind that we are taking the greatest possible precautions to keep them safe.”

Casinos in Nevada have been closed since mid-March after the governor Steve Sisolak recommended all non-essential businesses to shut down. He has also announced a four-phase reopening plan of which the second phase would start this Saturday. Casinos will only start opening in the third or fourth phase of the reopening.

Not enough testing

Governors across the country have suggested that the country is not testing enough. For instance, the state of Nevada has only tested 1,400 people per day since early March. In the meanwhile, it has witnessed more than 7,046 positive tests and has recorded over 373 deaths. The Convention Center will be holding at least 4,000 tests per day which could bring up the testing figures in the state.

The CEO of UMC, Mason VanHouweling said that testing capabilities have been increasing consistently thanks to the governor’s efforts. He made the COVID-19 Response, Relief and Recovery Task Force which is headed by Jim Murren, the former CEO of MGM. Murren recently stepped down from his post to help the governor’s reopening plans.

About sherlock

Sherlock Gomes loves to write and express his views on anything related to Gaming, Gambling, & Casino. He has been covering Gaming for more than two years now.