Las Vegas City Wire

When Gov. Stephen F. Sisolak lifted mask mandates in Nevada, one of his medical advisers said the move was done as a result of "political changes." 

Brian Labus, a member of the governor’s medical advisory board and the COVID-19 response team at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, told Vegas Fox 5 the governor didn’t consult with him or any member of the UNLV team before lifting the mandate, The Nevada Globe reported. Labus holds doctorate in public health.

"There’s been a lot of political changes," Labus said in an interview with the station, according to the Globe. "... There were practical considerations needed to be made by the governor and those outweighed the science. ... He didn’t ask us for our advice (when lifting this mandate)... but we aren’t the only medical people he is talking to."

The Globe noted that Vegas Fox 5 reported that Sisolak agreed to nix the mask mandate as a result of political changes as well as practical considerations. 

Sigal Chattah, a candidate for attorney general in the state, said on Twitter that the governor’s move is ironic after she was targeted by the press for filing a mask mandate lawsuit to protect Nevada’s children from arbitrary mandates.

"Amazing how ⁦@joeygilbertinc⁩ and I were excoriated by the press for filing this mask mandate lawsuit against the State and CCSD to protect Nevada’s children from arbitrary mandates and now the chickens are coming home to roost," Chattah tweeted.

Even though Sisolak lifted the mask mandate, he retained his emergency powers and directives, and The Nevada Globe cited a Las Vegas Review-Journal interview in which the governor noted that the emergency is not yet over.

COVID-19 killed 3,000 residents of the state in 2020, and since December 2020, 3 million vaccine doses were administered, according to Nevada Health Department data. Some 57% of adults in the state are considered fully vaccinated.