2022 Nevada Revised Statutes
Chapter 441A - Infectious Diseases; Reporting Concerning Communicable Diseases, Overdoses and Attempted Suicides
NRS 441A.180 - Contagious person to prevent exposure to others; warning by health authority; penalties; affirmative defenses; acts that do not violate section; prohibition on charging person with other offenses.
1. Except as otherwise provided in this section, a person who has a communicable disease in an infectious state shall not:
(a) Conduct himself or herself in any manner that has a high probability of transmitting the disease to another person; or
(b) Engage in any occupation in which there is a high probability that the disease will be transmitted to other persons.
2. Except as otherwise provided in this section, a health authority who has reason to believe that a person is in violation of subsection 1 shall issue a warning to that person, in writing, informing the person of the behavior which constitutes the violation and of the precautions that the person must take to avoid exposing another person to the disease. The warning must be served upon the person by delivering a copy to the person. The health authority shall not warn a person against:
(a) Engaging in an occupation if the employer of the person would be prohibited from preventing the person from engaging in that occupation by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101 et seq., or NRS 613.330.
(b) Accessing a place of public accommodation if the place of public accommodation would be prohibited from denying the person access to the place of public accommodation by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101 et seq., or NRS 651.050 to 651.120, inclusive.
3. Except as otherwise provided in this section, a person who violates the provisions of subsection 1 after service upon the person of a warning from a health authority in the manner prescribed by subsection 2 is guilty of a misdemeanor.
4. Except as otherwise provided in this section, any person who, after receiving notice that he or she has tested positive for a communicable disease, intentionally conducts himself or herself in a manner that is specifically intended to transmit the disease to another person and has a high probability of transmitting the disease to another person and, as a consequence, transmits the disease to another person is guilty of a misdemeanor. A person shall not be deemed to have acted intentionally solely because the person failed to use or attempt to use means to prevent transmission.
5. It is an affirmative defense to an offense charged pursuant to this section that a person who was subject to exposure to a communicable disease as a result of conduct prohibited by a warning issued pursuant to subsection 2 or conduct described in subsection 4:
(a) Knew the defendant had the communicable disease;
(b) Knew the conduct could result in the transmission of the communicable disease; and
(c) Consented to engage in the conduct with that knowledge.
6. It is an affirmative defense to an offense charged pursuant to this section that the defendant used or attempted to use means to prevent the transmission of the communicable disease.
7. A person who has tested positive for a communicable disease is not in violation of subsection 1 or 4 because the person:
(a) Donates or attempts to donate an organ, blood, sperm or tissue and thereby exposes another person to the communicable disease or transmits the communicable disease; or
(b) Becomes pregnant and exposes the unborn child to the communicable disease or transmits the communicable disease to the unborn child.
8. Before imposing a fine or a sentence of imprisonment upon a person who violates subsection 3 or 4, a court must consider all alternative means to advance the public health.
9. A person must not be charged for any offense other than the offenses set forth in this section if the person is alleged to have exposed another person to a communicable disease or attempted to expose another person to a communicable disease. The fact that a person has a communicable disease must not be used to satisfy any element of an offense other than the offenses set forth in this section.
10. For the purposes of subsections 1 and 4, the likelihood of transmitting a communicable disease to another person must be determined using current medical or epidemiological evidence. The Board shall adopt regulations prescribing requirements for determining the sufficiency and legitimacy of medical or epidemiological evidence pursuant to this subsection.
11. As used in this section, "means to prevent transmission" means any method, device, behavior or activity scientifically demonstrated to measurably limit, reduce or eliminate the risk of transmitting a communicable disease.
(Added to NRS by 1989, 296; A 2021, 3185)
