Health concerns have lingered over the Las Vegas Strip since the March 2020 shutdown of the entire city due to the covid pandemic. And while covid rules and restrictions have fully gone away, the city has been impacted by a number of other health concerns.
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) crowded Las Vegas-area hospitals at multiple points and Candida auris, a hard-to-control fungus, has also caused concerns. Covid focused attention on how crowded tourist areas -- whether they be cruise ships, theme parks, or resort casinos -- make it easier for disease to spread.
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That added level of concern actually led to the 2022 CES show, usually one of the largest conventions in Las Vegas, to essentially fall apart at the last minute. While that show was expected to be the real sign that Las Vegas had returned to normal, a spike in covid cases due to the omicron variant led most major companies to pull out.
Never mind that omicron was largely not leading to hospitalizations or serious illness in vaccinated people -- and CES required proof of vaccination to enter -- companies were scared off. That's similar to what happens after a rare outbreak of norovirus on a cruise ship.
Events like that lead to a period of heightened public awareness of the risks of being in crowded spaces. Because of that, the cruise industry makes every effort to contain outbreaks and make sure that they take every step to prevent them. They're also very aware of the optics that even one ship-wide issue can cause.
That's a lesson Caesar's Entertainmnet (CZR) - Get Free Report could learn as one of its properties has had a government-forced closure due to health and safety reasons.
Caesars was forced to close two pools at its Planet Hollywood property after the "Southern Nevada Health District found water chemistry and lifeguard violations during an inspection at the Strip resort," the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
Both pools have been closed for more than a week and Caesars has been directing guests staying at Planet Hollywood to use the pools at the nearby Paris Las Vegas and Horseshoe properties.
The Planet Hollywood pools have been closed since June 12 when an inspection found "water chemistry violations involving the north pool," according to the paper.
In addition, the inspection determined that lifeguards at both pools were inattentive and that the company lacked managerial control over its lifeguards. Caesars can reopen the pools when it achieves compliance, which requires a new inspection that the company must request.
Caesars has marked the pools as "temporarily closed" on the Planet Hollywood section of its website.
At a time of heightened awareness about illness and safety issues, Caesars has sent a troubling message by not taking quick steps to fix the situation. These closures are also happening during the summer where temperatures routinely top 100 degrees and pools at all properties operate near (or at) capacity.
Caesars should keep the pools closed if it can't operate them safely, but the longer the closure continues, the more questions it raises. That's a dangerous game when people are already, at least on some level, wary of visiting Las Vegas for health-related reasons.
A water chemistry issue could mean too much chlorine rather than disease-riddled water, but when a question goes unanswered, that leaves room for the public to fill in the worst.
"We care about the health and safety of our guests. We are working closely and in full cooperation with the Southern Nevada Health District to address all issues presented to us. In the meantime, our guests are being redirected to our neighboring pools at Horseshoe and Paris," Caesars shared in a statement to the Review-Journal.