Governor Steve Sisolak's tighter restrictions began early Tuesday morning. Those include an additional requirement for retail and grocery stores with more than 50,000 square feet of space. In addition to previous mask requirements and a limit of 50 percent capacity, they now have to have an employee at the front entrance, keeping track of the number of customers in the building.
"The masks and everything is still, you never really get use to it so I still do things like walk all the way up to the front of the store and be like 'Ahh! I gotta go back to the car and get my mask' but it's odd, just the whole mask thing," Michael Lindsey, Orange County resident said.
Many customers are shopping at Costco to prepare for their Thanksgiving meals. Reno's store is 170,000 square feet and 50 percent of capacity is still 2,800 people. Managers say the store does not even come close to having that many people. Costco already checks people in at the door, so the only difference after the governor's restrictions is that employees count patrons as they leave the store, as well.
"Really, the only difference is everyone's wearing a mask and trying to keep the distance but not too different, I don't think," Alycia Roseberry, Fallon resident said.
Some agree with the additional requirements but others say they are not necessary.
"The reality is that COVID-19 can be avoided if there was no humans, right?" Carlos Camacho, Reno resident said. "So we need some direction, some help as we try to shop."
"We're just trying to stay thankful even though they're putting restrictions on us that we don't think they should be," Diane Bowyer, Sierra Valley, CA resident said.
With so many customers, some say Costco is doing a good job. It has signage, social distancing placards and signs, mask requirements and the occasional bullhorn reminder for customers. Others say the staff is doing a good job of getting people in and out of the building in a timely manner.
"They're pretty stringent on compliance of having a mask on but the way they move people through the lines in the store, they're doing, I think, an excellent job of keeping people apart," Bruce Bowyer, Sierra Valley, CA resident said.
The changes are not very big for most grocery stores, since they have been taking precautions for the past several months. Smith's Food & Drug even has QueVision technology. It uses infrared sensors to keep track of the number of customers. Under the governor's directive, it is also adding staff to the entrance to keep count.
Save Mart is also making a few changes to keep up to speed with the new restrictions.
"The safety and health of our customers and our employees is the top priority of The Save Mart Companies," a Save Mart spokesperson said. "We work closely with local and state officials in following their regulations. We are committed to serving our communities, especially during this Thanksgiving holiday.
Some shoppers say there plans will be much different than they normally would be on Thanksgiving. The surge in cases means some will keep their gatherings to a minimum.
"I've always gone with my family but I think it's important to just keep things down, still give thanks for what we have but just make sure that next year is the better time," Edurne Arostegui, Reno resident said.
"For all Americans, this is the time you spend time with your family and a lot of us have to make the decision that we're just going to stay within our wife, husband and children," Camacho said.
While some of the family gatherings could be smaller than most years, most are still stocking up on things like turkey, pumpkin pies and potatoes for the holiday. They hope to celebrate the holiday in a safe way.
