Post by Admin on Jun 5, 2020 12:53:44 GMT -8
First Las Vegas Pool Party Takes Place After 78 days
The first Las Vegas pool party has opened since the Strip was closed down in mid-March due to the outbreak of coronavirus that drew the city's entertainment industry to a halt.
However, the usual scenes of wild drunken antics were replaced with a more subdued atmosphere, with social distancing reportedly encouraged, surfaces cleaned vigorously, and pools almost empty.
Thursday saw many of the city's famous hotel casinos reopen, including MGM Resorts International's Bellagio, MGM Grand, New York-New York and Signature, while Caesars Entertainment reopened Caesars Palace, Flamingo and Harrah's.
However, while MGM said that it intended to keep nightclubs and pool parties closed, The Flamingo has opted to reopen its pool parties, with the first being opened to the public on Thursday.
Photos released on Thursday from parties showed the pools were fairly quiet compared to what would have typically been seen prior to the closures.
Small groups or individual sun-seekers were spotted in the water, sunbathing by the pool, or propping up the bars as bikini-clad staff served drinks.
The staff could also be seen cleaning working to keep the pool and surfaces around it particular clean to help reduce the risk of the virus spreading among the revelers.
While experts believe coronavirus cannot remain infection in pool water, there is still a risk it can spread through the air around pools.
Speaking to The Atlantic, Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at Columbia University, explained that people in close-proximity with each other at a pool party are at greater risk than if someone was swimming laps.
'If someone is swimming laps, that would be pretty safe as long as they're not spitting water everywhere,' she said. 'But a Las Vegas–type pool party, that would be less safe, because people are just hanging out and breathing on each other.
The full closure of the strip was the first time since the assassination of JFK. Even the 2017 mass shooting did not lead to a full closure.
In 2019, Sin City received 42.5 million visitors and is the economic hub for the state of Nevada, which will be hoping the reopening of casinos will provide some stimulus after more than two months of standstill.
However, the reopenings come as Clark County, where Las Vegas is located, continues to have the highest number of coronavirus deaths in the state.
According to the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, there are 8,935 cases of coronavirus in the state and there have been 429 deaths.
On Thursday, the famous fountain outside the Bellagio hotel roared back into life on Thursday as casinos in the city started to reopen for the first time since coronavirus closures.
Crowds of people had lined up across Las Vegas late Wednesday night as after 78 days of shutdown, the public were allowed back into casinos transformed by new health and safety measures to combat the spread of the virus.
All staff wore masks or face shields as they returned for the first time since March 18 and gamblers were stationed further apart at tables as part of the new protocol.
Many casinos have also constructed glass partitions between slot machines and gamblers at tables to keep them apart and in certain hotels guests were required to take a temperature check before they entered.
Hotel-casinos in suburban Sin City were the first to open at 12:01 a.m., but larger locations such as Caesar's and Bellagio opened later Thursday morning.
Wynn Resorts, the Venetian and Palazzo opened later Thursday morning, along with the landmark STRAT casino and tower, Derek Stevens' downtown properties and others around Las Vegas owned by Boyd Gaming and Red Rock Resorts.
The biggest casino operators, MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment, won't immediately open all their Strip properties. Executives said they want to see how many show up.
The D Casino and Hotel was one of the first to open with masked staff ready on the floor and counting down to midnight.
Outside on Freemont Street, guests also lined up to count down and as 12am hit, the crowd began to push forward. Many of the guests pictured appeared unconcerned with the threat that the coronavirus could still pose, however, and crowded together without masks to get inside.
Outside on Freemont Street, guests also lined up to count down and as 12am hit, the crowd began to push forward. Many of the guests pictured appeared unconcerned with the threat that the coronavirus could still pose, however, and crowded together without masks to get inside.
(Source: dailymail.co.uk)
