Nevada casinos will likely remain closed for the full month of May under the governor’s plan for restarting the economy following the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown.

On Thursday, Gov. Steve Sisolak unveiled what he called Nevada United: Roadmap to Recovery, aka the plan to get back to something resembling normalcy prior to the pandemic lockdown, which included the closure of all gaming venues in mid-March.

The plan is to open the state in phases, each one lasting a period of two to three weeks so the authorities can gauge the impact of each step along the way. The state will only proceed to the next phase if the data – daily case counts, hospitalizations, deaths – supports such an advance. If infection rates rise, steps will be paused and phases could even be rolled back if the data turns truly dire.

Phase One will (hopefully) start by May 15 but the businesses that will be allowed to reopen will be subject to “extremely aggressive social distancing measures.” Businesses that won’t be allowed to open in Phase One include bars, nightclubs, malls, large sports events, mega-churches and live concerts.