Nevada brothel announces plan to reopen with weekly coronavirus tests for sex workers
Most business owners are feeling the impact of the country is on lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic.
A brothel owner shared that she is planning to reopen her business — something she believes people are in dire need of in these uncertain times. Madam Bella, the owner of the bordello, Bella's Hacienda, located in Wells, Nevada, says that she does understand reopening brothels will be a challenge given the coronavirus outbreak.
However, she wants to be "proactive and transparent" in putting a plan into place. Bella added that she believes that brothels will soon be in the position to open their doors to their clients and customers. While speaking to The Blast, Bella shared, "[U]ntil there’s an effective and readily available vaccine for COVID-19, it certainly can’t be ‘business as usual’ at the brothels."
"I’m announcing my procedures for reopening my brothel in order to be proactive and transparent so that my customers know that the courtesans and I have every intention to reopen safely, and stay open," she continued.
Her plan also involves "key procedural changes" which include additional testing protocols, personal protection equipment, and also regularly performed temperature checks. Bella's plan also involves sourcing enough COVID-19 test kits which should be made available to "brothel physicians".
She shared that the coronavirus test would be added to the usual weekly sex worker testing, which includes regular checks for STDs. "A brothel, like a nursing home, involves a group of people living in a communal environment and sharing common areas like a kitchen and gym," she shared.
"Regularly testing each courtesan residing at the brothel for COVID-19 will be crucial in order to reasonably ensure the health of the sex workers living alongside each other," she revealed.
Bella also thinks that her plan could be very beneficial to her elderly clients who are at a higher risk of contracting the virus. "It will also give potential clients peace of mind in knowing that the ladies are free of coronavirus, as several of our customers are of advancing age and may be considered at-risk persons with regard to the virus," she explained.
She believes that the sex industry, on the whole, is responsible when it comes to health and compared the coronavirus outbreak to that of AIDS back in the 1980s. "Like AIDS, coronavirus is a pandemic that will require brothel owners to think on their feet and adopt procedures that may at first seem awkward, but masks and other face coverings are the condoms for COVID-19."
"I have every intention to temporarily mandate mask use for patrons and bar staff while they’re on the premises to protect the health of our sex workers and everyone visiting the brothel," she continued.
As per data from the John Hopkins University, there are 2,629,801 confirmed coronavirus cases and over 183,441 deaths across the globe currently with the numbers rising every day.
The USA has recorded 842,629 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 46,784 deaths as of Thursday, April 23.