Clark County Makes Coronavirus Tests Available at Orleans Casino

Posted on: May 4, 2020, 08:51h. 

Last updated on: May 4, 2020, 10:30h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.

In partnership with University Medical Center (UMC), the Clark County Commission is offering drive-thru coronavirus testing at the Orleans Casino on Tuesday, May 5 and Wednesday, May 6.

Clark County Drive-Thru Testing
Boyd Gaming’s Orleans Casino will serve as a temporary coronavirus testing site. (Image: NY Daily News)

Located at 4500 West Tropicana Ave., the Orleans is owned by Boyd Gaming, and like other Nevada gaming properties, has been shuttered since mid-March because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Those interested in being tested for the respiratory illness must make appointments through the University Medical Center website. Testing will be conducted on the first floor of the Orleans parking garage between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday. A maximum of 300 tests will be conducted each day.

Federal funding through the CARES Act will cover the costs for testing for those with no insurance,” according to the commission’s Twitter feed. “People who have insurance will be asked to provide it for billing purposes, and depending on their insurance, may not have a co-pay.”

The commission added that medical professionals will perform the tests, and that patients should have the results within 24 to 48 hours.

Idea Used on the East Coast

The Orleans isn’t the first gaming property in the US to serve as a coronavirus testing site. As Casino.org reported last month, CVS Health opened a rapid COVID-19 testing site at the Twin River Casino in Rhode Island, one of that state’s two gaming venues.

The pharmacy operator has the capability of performing 1,000 tests per day at the Twin River site, which is also being done in the casino’s parking garage.

In Nevada, some county commissioners believe increasing the availability of coronavirus testing is crucial in reopening Clark County.

“This is a critical step in the reopening of Clark County,” Commissioner Michael Naft said in a press release. “Our goal is to offer more locations in the near future where the public can be tested, including Laughlin.”

Last week, Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak unveiled the first phase of his reopening plan, pointing to May 15 for some businesses. But bars, casinos, and restaurants will have to wait longer. Some operators on the Las Vegas Strip, where the commission has jurisdiction, are accepting room reservations for Memorial Day weekend.

Nevada Outlook

On Sunday, the Department of Health and Human Services reported 5,426 coronavirus cases in the Silver State and 262 fatalities. The numbers for Clark County, the state’s largest region, are 4,274 cases and 218 deaths, with 2,946 recoveries, a rate of almost 69 percent.

The coronavirus “curve” in Southern Nevada is believed to be flattening, a scenario that’s good news for the well-being of the region’s resident’s, but one that also increases pressure on Sisolak to reopen the economy.

Over the past five weeks, more than 412,000 Silver State workers filed for first-time jobless benefits – the highest level in history – and the unemployment rate is approaching 20 percent, according to the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation.