'I'd love everything open': Las Vegas mayor's coronavirus interview sparks ire | US new... - 0 views
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Carolyn Goodman, the independent mayor of Las Vegas, has said she wants the city’s casinos, hotels and stadiums to quickly reopen in an interview that attracted widespread criticism.
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Cooper asked Goodman if the city would have more than the 150 deaths it has tallied had it not imposed social distancing measures.
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Cooper pressed Goodman on how she would ensure coronavirus was not spread at the city’s hotels and casinos, describing the tourist attractions as a “Petri dish” for possible infection.
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The talkshow host Jimmy Kimmel referred to the interview as “bonkers” and said she “should resign before lunch arrives today”.
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The casino workers’ Culinary Union, which represents about 60,000 bartenders, cooks, housekeepers and other employees, said Goodman’s remarks were “outrageous considering essential frontline workers have been dealing with the consequences of this crisis firsthand”.
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“Workplaces need to be safe and healthy, not a petri dish,” said Geoconda Arguello-Kline, the union’s secretary-treasurer. The union said 11 of its members so far have died of Covid-19.
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Brian Knudsen, a Las Vegas City councilman, said Goodman “does not speak for all of us”, and reopening now “is reckless and completely contrary to the overwhelming consensus of medical experts”, while Dina Titus, a Democratic congresswoman who represents the Las Vegas Strip, said the mayor doesn’t represent the area “literally or figuratively” and the advice of scientists telling people to stay home should be heeded.
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“Assume everybody is a carrier,” Goodman said on Tuesday on MSNBC. “And then you start from an even slate. And tell the people what to do. And let the businesses open and competition will destroy that business if, in fact, they become evident that they have disease, they’re closed down. It’s that simple.”
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In late March, images of homeless people sleeping in a converted parking lot prompted widespread condemnation after officials turned the outdoors lot into a temporary shelter.
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The shelter consists of a series of tents for homeless people who have coronavirus but are not sick enough to go to the hospital.
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Goodman’s comments came a day after public health officials in Nevada reported 119 new cases of Covid-19 and nine additional deaths overnight in Clark county, where Las Vegas is located. Statewide, officials have tallied more than 4,000 coronavirus cases and 172 deaths.
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Donald Trump has fanned the flames, suggesting some places have gone too far in issuing restrictions.