Arkansas casinos can only reopen when safe

Gov. Asa Hutchinson says citizens must be protected but seems positive that normal life will resume shortly.

US.- Casinos in Arkansas will reopen when state officials are confident the spread of Coronavirus is on the decline and public and staff can be properly protected.

The announcement from Gov. Asa Hutchinson this week is a small boost to the three casino operators in the state.

Casinos have been closed in Arkansas since the end of March, as the state battles the Coronavirus outbreak.

At present, May 4 is the target date to allow large venues to reopen in the state but the short timeframe means that casinos must work quickly to ensure safety measures are in place if they wish to reopen immediately.

Hutchinson tweeted yesterday (April 23): “Yesterday I announced that medical service providers can resume certain nonessential out-patient procedures on April 27.

“I have also established target dates to announce my decisions on lifting restrictions for restaurants, gyms, salons/barber shops, & places of worship.

“We are moving in the right direction. If we stay on target, our desire and intent is to start lifting restrictions. But we are going to be closely watching public health data every day & taking it one step at a time.

“The certain industries that will be permitted to reopen after May 4 will remain under Phase One guidelines that call for masks, social distancing, and limits on the size of gatherings.”