Nevada Extends Casino Coronavirus-Related Closures Until April 30

Las Vegas casinos will be closed at least another month due to coronavirus fears, but the dormant resorts and convention halls are getting alternatively used for healthcare services.

The new order keeps the state’s hospitality industry and most other businesses shuttered in line with national social distancing guidelines that President Donald Trump decided over the weekend to extend until April 30 to stem the spread of COVID-19.

Sisolak said activating the National Guard will speed up and make logistical planning and delivery of medical supplies more efficient, as well as provide additional resources for the state’s labor force. It also makes Nevada eligible for additional federal funding.

At least 31 people have died of the coronavirus in Nevada, and more than 1,000 people in the state have been diagnosed with the COVID-19.

Officials said up to 1,000 beds could be provided at about 12 Las Vegas-area hotels, motels, convention halls, surgical centers and warehouses to shelter recuperating coronavirus patients who don’t need hospitalization. Clark County Commission Chairman Marilyn Kirkpatrick said more sites were sought.

The facilities are in addition to a 40-bed temporary hospital being built next to the Southern Nevada Health District office and a 350-bed tent complex under construction next to Cashman Center for homeless people who need isolation but not hospitalization.

U.S. Hotels Will Need More Than What’s in the $2 Trillion Relief Package: Industry Trade Group CEO

The $2 trillion U.S. economic relief package passed Friday to offset a coronavirus economic downturn is more of a lifeline than stimulus to the hotel industry, according to the CEO of one of the industry’s largest trade groups.

U.S. President Donald Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security — or CARES — Act into law.Many hotel operators qualify for some of the $500 billion in loans and loan guarantees the $2 trillion emergency spending package includes to businesses hit hard by the coronavirus economic downturn.

The CARES Act loan limit is capped at 250% of a business’s average monthly payroll, which the AHLA estimates is enough to enable hoteliers to meet payroll and debt service obligations for four to eight weeks. But the trade group wanted to see the limit at a higher 400% cap.

Companies like Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt have furloughed tens of thousands of employees while occupancy at some properties plunge to single-digit levels. The April 1 rent and mortgage payment deadline this week will be an initial financial hurdle for the industry in the ongoing coronavirus-led economic downturn. For the most part, Rogers said he is hearing of lenders and landlords offering short-term leniency on upcoming payments.

The CARES Act offers SBA loan forgiveness to businesses that re-hire furloughed employees by June 30, but the AHLA doesn’t anticipate the hotel industry will be fully recovered by then. Instead, the organization wants the deadline pushed out.

President Trump weighs cruise line bailout: Would they need to come home to the U.S.?

President Donald Trump said he likes the idea of major cruise ship companies shifting their corporate registrations to the U.S. as a possible requirement in order to qualify for aid under the federal stimulus bill.

He also voiced support for the notion of the government taking ownership stakes in airlines in exchange for loans to keep them afloat as vital businesses.

The comments came as industries assess how they fared after the Senate passed the $2 trillion stimulus bill,which now goes to the House. Trump has repeatedly voiced support for airlines and cruise ship companies, saying they are great businesses that deserve to be kept afloat despite being devastated by the business downturn in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump noted that the cruise lines order a lot of goods in the U.S and have thousands of employees, including many who work on U.S. soil. He hinted that perhaps there may still be a lifeline for the industry by the time the final version of the stimulus hits his desk for a signature