1555 East astro Avewu. See $100 Las Vins, Neva £9101 ‘Once: (702) 486-2500 ax Nov (702) 486-2505 (Ove Hunonen Ove Noari Carson SraeET ‘Canaon Cir Nevaoa 89701 (Onnce: (778) 6845670 Fax No (775) 684-5683 Office of Governor Steve Sisolak September 16, 2020 Vice President Mike Pence ‘The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW ‘Washington, DC 20500 Dear Mr. Vice President: | write to you with concer forthe health and well-being of Nevadans following the Presidents campaign events in Nevada over ths past weekend wherein he addressed thousands of Nevadans at two ralis that defied both state emergency directives and Federal public health guidlines. Despite recommendations from the President's Adminstration, and despite local officals in Southern and Norther Nevada reiterating the existing restrictions in the Sates emerpency directives, the President's campaign knowingly packed thousands of people into two venues to hold public gatherings that are categorized as “hgh risk” according to the Centers for Disease CContol and Prevention (CDC). Iam respectlly requesting some clarity and explanation fom te Task Force for myself andthe millions of Nevadans I represent. (Over the past months, Ihave participated in multiple telephone calls with you and the other leaders of the White House Coronavirus Task Force that are copied on this letter. These calls have provided me and my administration with valuable medical and response advice, as well as insight into the Administration's recommended best practices for confronting the COVID-19 global pandemic. I share the same goal as the President's Administration - to ultimately stop the spread of this deadly virus and to lead this country toward a prosperous recovery. Ihave listened to and ‘usted the Task Force throughout this effort, and I have implemented many of the ‘Administration's recommendations. As you are aware from the weekly Nevada State Profile Reports distributed by the White House, the Administration has made the following recommendations on how to address the COVID-19 spread in Nevada — which has been identified as an elevated risk state in the “red zone” from early July until just last week ‘+ Inred zones, limit the sizeof social gatherings to 10 or fewer people; in yellow zones, limit, social gatherings to 25 or fewer peopleAlways weara mask ouside the home and maintain physical distance. {Ensure tat all business retailers and personal services require masks and can saely socially citance Work wih local communities and retilesto deliver effective messages to ensue high usage ates re: fae coverings. + Encourage individual that have participated in large social gatherings, bay partes, and family gatherings to get testo and isolate themselves fom oder family members and those with comorbidities. In fact, the August 30" State Report acknowledged encouraging signs of case decline in Nevada ‘from mask requirements and other mitigation efforts, and the White House report recommended to keep these “requirements in place until safely in the green zone.” By any measure, Nevada is notin the ‘green zone,” despite the recent progress we have made Based on this, you can imagine my confusion and utter disbelief over the contradictory ‘and dismissive behavior demonstrated by the President this past weekend when he held two mass gathering events that were not setup to accommodate social distancing and were indirect violation of our State's emergency directives. This has led to confusion and frustration by not only me but also the millions of Nevadans who have made sacrifices over the previous six months. These ‘Nevadans have personally sacrificed by not having graduation ceremonies, weddings, funerals and other personal and milestone life events while following oue state directives ~ all of which have been supported by the White House and Coronavirus Task Force recommendations ~ and it was ‘an insult to those Nevadans who sacrificed in the name of public health to have seen these unsafe events unfold in their communities. The hallmark of Nevada's response plan is utilizing targeted strategie mitigation measures atthe ‘county level using tate and local data and assessments to best help slow the spread of COVID- Within those specific communities, I agree with the CDC recommendations that event planners and officials should collaborate with state and local governments to make adjustments to meet the unique noeds and circumstances ofthe local communities who have done all they could to ensure businesses and visitors follow the state directives, Recommendations that the President does not support or feel entitled wo ignore ‘Atatime when Nevada is focused on mitigating the spread so we ean reopen more of our economy, the Presidents actions put those plans at risk. Due to our state economy relying so heavily on tourism, we have suffered tremendously asa result ofthis pandemic. Any setbacks are devastating to urrecovery efforts. I respectfully equest that the White House Coronavirus Task Force explain to myself and the esidents of the State of Nevada how we reconcile the recommendations from this group of the President’s public health experts and his own contradictory actions here in our State. ‘Lam beyond frustrated at the lack of clear, concise, andl consistent messaging from the President ‘on how to behave during this public health ersis ~ particularly in light of the aforementionedrecommendations coming from the White House. The inconsistent policy positions and contradictory actions from the President is confounding my administration, elected local leaders, ‘medical professionals, frst responders, National Guardsmen and women, and all others responsible for executing Nevada's response to COVID-19. These Nevadans have been working tirelessly around the clock for six months to slow the spread ofthis deadly virus and now face a probuble increase in contagious spread over the coming weeks due to the Presidents callous disregard for our emergency directives and mitigation measures. They deserve an explanation 3s to the Presidents actions in Nevada and whether the Task Force finds them acceptable. The State of Nevada and the rest ofthe nation are fighting to control the spread of COVID-19 through every means at our disposal. Shutting down social and economic activity throughout the State is not sustainable, and ignoring the State's science-based, targeted mitigation strategies by holding indoor and outdoor politcal rallies with thousands of attendees ~ mostly unmasked and not socially distanced is a direct threat to the progress we have made. "Nevadans deserve much better from the Trump administration and with the President's blatant disregard and lack of accountability for his own administration's professional medical advice, I ‘would ask what addtional support Nevada can expect to receive from the Federal government to ‘ensure it can effectively combat this deadly virus now thatthe President has undoubtedly risked ‘an inereased spread in two of our communities? I urge the administration to consider both the health and economic consequences of this type of unsanctioned mass gatherings and would appreciate beter collaboration inthe future. ook forward to your response. Ce: Deborah L. Birx, MD. Robert R. Redfield, M.D. Anthony S, Fauei, M.D.