The NADA Show next month will not require attendees to be masked as a precaution against COVID-19, following the end of Nevada’s mask mandate for large gatherings, the National Automobile Dealers Association, which organizes the event, said Thursday.
Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak, in a tweet Thursday, said organizations are free to establish their own policies as the state lifted a mask mandate at all indoor activities, including trade shows.
NADA is reviving an in-person event this year after a virtual convention was held in 2021.
“We have said throughout the planning process for the 2022 Show that we would strictly adhere to any state or local health and safety guidelines, including those related to masks and vaccinations, and we will continue to do so,” National Automobile Dealers Association spokesman Jared Allen said in a statement Thursday.
NADA will not release registration and attendance figures until after the show but Allen said the Expo floor has been sold out and has had an active waitlist for weeks.
He described advance registrations as “extremely healthy.”
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, which oversees the Las Vegas Convention Center where the NADA Show will be held March 10-13, highlighted the end of a mandate on its website Thursday.
“Effective Feb. 10, 2022, the State of Nevada has lifted mask mandates, including in resorts and casinos, restaurants, bars, showrooms and meeting spaces,” the LVCVA’s website said. “Masks are still recommended for individuals who are not fully vaccinated, those with underlying health conditions and in health care facilities.”
Sisolak, in a tweet, said Nevada “will no longer require masks in public places, but employers and organizations, including school districts, may set their own policies, and I encourage them to work with their employees and communities to ensure that policies are in place,”
The Las Vegas Convention Center will not require masks by default. LVCVA spokeswoman Erica Johnson said trade shows using the facility can set their own requirements on masks.
“It remains at the trade shows’ discretion if they would like attendees of their shows to wear masks inside the Las Vegas Convention Center,” she said in an email.
Sisolak, in an executive order signed Thursday, said COVID-19 cases had “fallen dramatically in recent weeks” and hospitalizations were declining. He said vaccines were abundant, and the state had adequate supplies of COVID-19 treatments for patients.
The American Financial Services Vehicle Finance Conference & Expo runs March 7-10 at the Bellagio Resort & Casino, overlapping with the NADA Show in Las Vegas. It also expects to lift a mask mandate.
“At this point, we adhere to local requirements, so I assume mask off,” AFSA spokesman Ed McFadden said Thursday.
Stacy Hamilton, a spokeswoman for the Bellagio Resort & Casino’s parent, MGM Resorts, said the company was “no longer requiring masks at any of our Las Vegas resorts now that the state mandate has been lifted.” She said MGM would “work with each group to determine the specific requirements for their event.”
The company’s website has also removed a reference to a mask mandate.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises everyone 2 years of age or older to “properly wear a well-fitting mask indoors in public in areas of substantial or high community transmission, regardless of vaccination status.”
As of late Thursday, the CDC reported 81 percent of Americans aged 5 and older had received at least one COVID-19 vaccination dose.
It said 68 percent of the population is fully vaccinated, and 44 percent of those 12 years or older have received a booster dose. According to the CDC, those younger than 12 are not eligible for a booster yet.
