Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak ended the state’s mask mandate Thursday ahead of a tight gubernatorial race.
The Democrat justified his policy change in a lengthy Twitter thread, noting that daily COVID-19 cases have dropped to 1,280, hospitalizations have declined and vaccines have been widely distributed among residents. Sisolak will run for reelection in a highly-competitive November race The Cook Political Report called a “toss-up.”
Given all of these updates and the tools we have, now is the appropriate time for me to announce that Nevada will rescind our mask mandate, effective immediately.
— Governor Sisolak (@GovSisolak) February 10, 2022
Sisolak had come under fire in recent months over relaxing restrictions, including mask mandates, according to ABC News.
He currently faces a field of strong Republican challengers, including Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo and former U.S. Sen. Dean Heller, according to The Nevada Independent. In a Jan. 19-26 poll Sisolak held a 4.4 point lead over Lombardo, just within the survey’s 3.9% margin of error.
Lombardo has been critical of mask mandates, but showed support for mandating vaccines for police department employees, the Independent reported.
Nevada has been in a state of emergency since July 2021, requiring masks indoors in public spaces where transmission rates were high, ABC reported. (RELATED: Virginia Dems Flip On Masks One Week After Blasting Governor For Going Maskless)
Schools in the state’s two largest counties require all students to wear masks, ABC reported. Schools, employers and other organizations will still be able to impose mask mandates, according to Sisolak.
His decision to drop the mask mandate came alongside a handful of blue states that suddenly reversed course in early February and began relaxing COVID-19 restrictions.
The governor’s office did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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