NAB Reaches Out to Health Officials on News of Nevada Coronavirus Cases

The National Association of Broadcasters said it is monitoring the situation in Las Vegas on the news of the first cases of Coronavirus in Nevada.

One case involved a Clark County man. Las Vegas is in Clark County.

NAB said the show is still a "go" for April 18-22, but it said in light of the news out of Nevada, it as reached out to public health officials there, as well as the Las Vegas Convention Center and its other show partners, to "assess the situation" and what their increased protocols are to protect the health and safety of attendees.

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, a second case of what was presumed to be the virus surfaced hours after the first was identified.

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A man in his 50's had recently traveled to Washington State, and the other was reportedly linked to one of the cruise ships some of whose passengers had the virus. According to paper, a Reno school at which the son of one of the men attended had been asked by public health officials to close down "out of an abundance of caution."

Among the precautions the convention center has already put in place, according to NAB:

1. "Reinforcing its standard employee health practices, including sending employees home and or encouraging employees to stay home if they are sick or demonstrated health symptoms that could impact colleagues or guests.

2. "Reinforcing its standard food safety awareness programs including frequent hand washing and making alcohol-based hand gel-rub available at every food station and every table at food outlets.

3. "Participating in ongoing webinars and conference calls with the International Association of Venue Managers to stay abreast of new practices, protocols and guidance.

4. "Increasing cleaning protocols to include more frequent wiping and disinfecting of touch points in its facility during occupied show hours, such as door handles, elevator buttons, handrails, restroom stall doors and sinks.

5. "Adding hand sanitizer stations in strategically placed areas throughout the facility.

6. "Increasing the outside air intake/air change rates during occupied show hours."

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.