A New York woman attending a conference at a Las Vegas Strip casino became sick last weekend with the new coronavirus, health authorities said Wednesday, stoking concerns that a widening outbreak could cripple business in a gambling mecca that attracts more than 40 million visitors a year.

Dozens of major conferences, concerts, gatherings or other events have now been limited, postponed or outright canceled in the wake of mounting fears of the spread of the novel coronavirus.

It can’t be argued: whiskey is a comfort. Whiskey is a worthy companion after a day’s work well done, and points to a pleasant path to reflect on days to come. What it’s not is a solution to the threats of the coronavirus that’s now plaguing the globe. To see a hard lesson on this subject, see this article about the tragically mistaken beliefs about alcohol protecting from infection.

A UNLV student went under self-quarantine this week after coming into contact with a person who was possibly exposed to the new coronavirus during recent travel, the university said late Wednesday.

Even as expansions and new developments take place in the Las Vegas Medical District, elected officials in Southern Nevada say more coordination is needed to address the region’s ongoing physician shortage and fragmented medical services.

"There are liabilities on both sides of the issue," said Cynthia Sherman, director of conferences and co-director of the Association of Writers & Writing Programs – the issue being whether or not to hold AWP's annual conference in San Antonio, March 4-7, even as the mayor declared a public health emergency after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention permitted an American evacuee from Wuhan to leave quarantine at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland; shortly afterward, they tested positive for the coronavirus.

The Nevada System of Higher Education asked all institutions to be prepared to transition to online instruction by April to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

UNLV is preparing to transition to remote/virtual instruction no later than April 3, according to a memo that was sent to faculty and staff on Wednesday.

A meeting of minds at the Clark County Government Center addressed the have's and the have not's of the medical field in Southern Nevada Wednesday addressing issues ranging from development of the Las Vegas Medical District to a severe statewide shortage of doctors.