Las Vegas hospitals place tents outside ERs for health screenings

At least one hospital in the Las Vegas Valley had tents set up outside their emergency room entrances on Thursday morning. Signs alerting patients that health screenings would be done before they enter the ER were in place at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center and Desert Springs Hospital. Neither hospital had a line.

“Have you traveled outside the country in the last two weeks?” was a question being asked of those walking up to the ER at Sunrise.

At Valley Hospital, there was also a health screening sign, this time at the main entrance.

At University Medical Center, the emergency room operation seemed business as usual, with no visible outdoor screening area for incoming patients.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advise people who think they may have coronavirus to stay home and not go to an emergency room unless they are experiencing an emergency. They are advised to call their health care provider and tell them you may have COVID-19. This will help the provider’s office take steps to keep other people from getting infected or exposed.

Contact John Przybys at jprzybys@reviewjournal.com.