Governor doesn’t take questions during coronavirus address
Gov. Steve Sisolak provided few new details about Nevada’s coronavirus cases at a Saturday news conference and took no questions despite a lack of information surrounding Southern Nevada’s patient.
He gave an overview of the coronavirus situation in the state, summarizing information released in the past two days and stating he agreed with Nevadan’s “desire to expand testing” for the virus.
The governor took no questions from reporters after his remarks, which lasted about eight minutes. The press conference, held at the Sawyer Building, was announced Friday night.
Dr. Fermin Leguen, the acting chief health officer for the Southern Nevada Health District, also attended the press conference but did not speak or take questions.
Sisolak did announce that private labs including the companies LabCorp and Quest have been “provisionally approved” to start testing in Nevada “in the near future.”
‘Strong commitment’ from CDC
LabCorp said Thursday that it has begun offering COVID-19 testing to doctors, hospitals and health care professionals in its network. Quest has said it will begin offering its own tests on Monday.
Sisolak also announced he’s received “a strong commitment” from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that the state’s two public labs —the Nevada State Public Health Lab in Reno and the Southern Nevada Public Health Laboratory — will receive “additional testing resources” to “test thousands of more people as needed, based upon expertise and assessment of our public health officials.”
He said that during a conversation with a member of Vice President Mike Pence’s Coronavirus Task Force, he “made it incredibly clear that I agree with Nevada’s residents and their desire to expand testing.”
Two people have tested positive for the virus in Nevada —one in Clark County and one in Washoe County. Both patients’ test results are considered “presumptive positive” until the results are confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Neither had been confirmed by the center as of Saturday morning, Sisolak said.
“When we discovered there were two presumptive cases, we didn’t overreact or underreact,” Sisolak said. “We reacted.”
The Clark County resident who tested positive for COVID-19 remains in serious condition, the Southern Nevada Health District said Friday afternoon.
The resident, who is the first and only person in Southern Nevada to test positive for the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus, is in isolation at the VA Medical Center in North Las Vegas, a hospital spokesman confirmed on Thursday.
The Southern Nevada Health District announced Thursday that the patient has a child in school. The Clark County School District and the State Public Charter School Authority have not addressed whether that child attended one of their schools.
Charter school letter
A letter sent to parents from the Explore Knowledge Academy charter school stated a “member of the EKA family” is under quarantine due to potential exposure to the virus. The letter was sent from the charter school on Friday and was posted to Facebook and forwarded to the Review-Journal.
It emphasized that the Southern Nevada Health District does not believe there was “direct exposure” to the school, its staff, students or families, but it remained unclear Saturday morning how the person under quarantine is associated with the school.
The Washoe County man who tested positive was a passenger on a previous cruise of the Grand Princess, a cruise ship now in quarantine off the California Coast. The man is self-isolating at home and was reportedly stable late Friday.
Washoe County officials announced late Friday that the coronavirus tests conducted on students at a Reno elementary school came back negative, including the test on the family member of the man who tested positive.
The county officials on Friday declined to say how many students were tested, citing patient confidentiality rules. They said the county was also monitoring other individuals who might have been exposed elsewhere but indicated that there is a “very low risk” for the virus spreading through the community.
40 Nevadans to be contacted
Sisolak said Saturday morning that the state was notified on Wednesday and Thursday of 40 Nevadans who left the Princess Cruises ship Feb. 21 from the previous voyage, although the Nevada Department of Health and Human Service didn’t release that information to the public until Friday night.
State health authorities said Friday that those Nevadans will be contacted for testing.
“I’m proud to say that Nevada’s local health authorities responded immediately to contact and assess all passengers for signs of illness,” Sisolak said Saturday morning.
On Feb. 21, the ship left San Francisco for a new trip. Federal health authorities have not let the ship dock back in San Francisco, and 3,500 people have been quarantined to their cabins since Thursday afternoon.
Those remaining on board include 78-year-old Summerlin resident Ronald Griebell and his wife and daughter. Federal authorities said only 46 people on the ship were tested Thursday, and of those, 21 people tested positive.
Sisolak said Saturday morning the best way to protect yourself against the virus is to take similar precautions as you would to avoid the flu. He also thanked front-line health care workers in the state.
“I’m confident our ‘Battle Born’ spirit can get us through anything,” Sisolak said.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.
