Las Vegas City Wire

A Las Vegas hypnotist is the first to close a ticketed performance in Las Vegas as a result of Gov. Steve Sisolak's renewed restrictions, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Marc Savard, a longtime performer, has stopped production at V Theater in Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood in response to Sisolak's declaration that he would restore mask requirements in counties with "substantial or high rates of COVID-19 transmission."

“I want to be back and had waited a long time to get back on stage,” Savard said. “But I do have a responsibility to do a show that’s safe, and to put on the best show possible.”

Additionally, he lamented the unpredictability of pandemic rules handed down by state officials.

"I have to be careful in trying to predict what is going to happen,” Savard said. “This is changing weekly.”

He added that the reason he closed his show due to the mask mandate is that “to perform the show right, I need to make eye contact, read body language and see if they are laughing or smiling. Facial expressions are a big part of the show.” 

Dr. Joel Zinberg, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute who has worked at Mt. Sinai Hospital for 30 years, similarly criticized the government's mask requirements. He said, in a New York Post op-ed, that "ordering lockdowns or mask mandates for the entire population defies common sense."

"The government should warn older people or those with co-morbidities to play it safe if they refuse to be vaccinated," Zinberg said. "But in general, delta presents very few risks for people who have gotten the shot or those who are young and healthy.”

Although COVID-19 cases have increased, hospitalizations and fatalities have only increased moderately, according to Zinberg. The mortality rate, as of July 20, was lower than the three weeks preceding that date. 

Sisolak's mandate encompasses all "public indoor spaces" and applies to Clark County in Las Vegas, as well as Carson, Churchill, Douglas, Elko, Esmeralda, Lincoln, Lyon, Mineral, Nye, Washoe and White Pine counties.

However, these counties will be exempt from the requirement if Sisolak's office determines that the transmission rate in their county has been "low or moderate" for two consecutive weeks.