Clark County Ends COVID-19 Emergency Declaration
Clark County today announced the end to the County’s COVID-19 Emergency Declaration, which was declared on March 15, 2020.
The emergency declaration was issued at the start of the pandemic to help manage financial and resource constraints. The declaration assisted southern Nevada governments as they worked to stabilize and more efficiently respond to emerging conditions and manage response and recovery efforts. This included administrative leniency in the enforcement of ordinances, rules, regulations, purchasing and other government functions. State and federal funding was also made available to reimburse the County for the costs to support response and recovery efforts. The declaration allowed for needed flexibility in staffing levels and assignments.
“While the County is no longer in need of an emergency declaration, we are still in a pandemic and our vigilance is required as we manage through additional strains of the COVID-19 virus. We encourage the public to vaccinate and stay up to date on boosters,” said County Manager Yolanda King. “Clark County will be navigating through the pandemic’s tremendous impact on our region for the next couple of years. We continue to dedicate significant resources through our human services work to address homelessness and challenges with mental health while also helping to fund partner organizations in our community focused on improving quality of life for our residents.”
Since the emergency was declared, the County has received needed financial assistance through the CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act) and ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) to recover lost revenue and to support initiatives for those impacted by the pandemic. Additionally, the initial pandemic constraints on resources such as PPE, supplies, and people have either been addressed or can be managed without the declaration.
Since the County’s emergency declaration, over 9,000 individuals and families have been assisted in congregate and non-congregate housing with wraparound services, the County has assisted more than 60,000 households with CHAP funding to keep renters in their homes and to assist with mortgage and utility costs, and $66 million has been committed to programs through ARPA dollars. The County is currently working through applications for its new $140 million Community Housing Fund to support the development and rehabilitation of affordable housing.
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Clark County is a dynamic and innovative organization dedicated to providing top-quality service with integrity, respect and accountability. With jurisdiction over the world-famous Las Vegas Strip and covering an area the size of New Jersey, Clark is the nation’s 11th-largest county and provides extensive regional services to 2.3 million citizens and 45.6 million visitors a year (2019). Included are the nation’s 7th-busiest airport, air quality compliance, social services and the state’s largest public hospital, University Medical Center. The County also provides municipal services that are traditionally provided by cities to 1 million residents in the unincorporated area. Those include fire protection, roads and other public works, parks and recreation, and planning and development.