LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Mayor Carolyn Goodman is calling for businesses closed by the governor’s order to be reopened. At Wednesday’s city council meeting, she spent several minutes discussing why the shut down should end and said “being closed is killing us.”

“This shutdown has become one of total insanity in my opinion for there is no backup of data as to why we are shutdown from the start, no plan in place how to move through the shutdown or how even to come out of it,” she said.

WATCH MAYOR GOODMAN’S STATEMENT ON CLOSURE:

Goodman said that, in her discussions with experts, it’s her belief that the virus isn’t going to go away and in the meantime, the Nevada economy is sinking.

“This is truly an opportunity for having a bully pulpit as your mayor and I’m going take advantage of that,” she said.

At one point during the meeting, she had a staff member hold up a graph and mentioned the 128 reported statewide deaths. While expressing her condolences over the deaths, she said they represent a small number of people.

“With a population of 3.2 million, those whom we’ve lost represent less than a half of one percent of our population which has caused us to shut down the entire state,” she said. “Of the estimated 900,000 who have lost their jobs, 300,000 have already filed for unemployment. These are families that no longer have the ability to buy for for their children.”

Governor Steve Sisolak issued a directive on March 17 and then extended it earlier this month to keep all non-essential businesses, including casinos and schools, closed until the end of April.

Goodman said the closure “makes no sense” and the city, county and state should be reopened.

“We can not live — going forward — with the medical and health industry telling us this virus is going to be around longer than a month or two maybe even a year.”

“For Heavens sake, being closed is killing us already, and killing Las Vegas, our industry, and convention and tourism industry we have all worked so hard to built.” Goodman said. “The longer we wait, the more impossible it will be to recover.”