COVID surge continues: Nevada reports nearly 2,000 new cases

COVID-19 continues to surge in the state nearly a week after Gov. Steve Sisolak made a plea to Nevadans to stay home to shrink the number of new cases.

“We are in the stages of exponential growth from cases,” Julia Peek, deputy administrator in the Department of Health and Human Services, said on a call Monday with reporters.

On Saturday, for the first time since the pandemic began, the state broke the barrier of 2,000 new cases in one day, reporting a record 2,269 cases. The state reported 1,914 new cases Monday, a day of the week when numbers typically dip, reflecting a decline in testing over the weekend.

This brings the cumulative number of recorded cases statewide to 122,097. The state also reported eight additional deaths, for a total of 1,917 fatalities. The 14-day test positivity rate is 15.4 percent.

Meanwhile, the Southern Nevada Health District reported 874 new cases and no additional deaths in Clark County, bringing the cumulative number of cases to 96,391, with 1,618 total fatalities.

It is too soon for the governor’s plea to residents to stay home as much as possible for two weeks to be reflected in the data, state officials said.

“We’re still experiencing that case growth and the challenges that we were watching six days ago when the announcement was originally made,” said Caleb Cage, who directs the state’s COVID-19 response.

Those challenges include increases in COVID-19 hospitalizations.

Hospitalizations numbered 1,157 statewide, nearing the record of 1,165 on July 31. To accommodate the steep rise in hospitalizations in Washoe County, Reno’s Renown Regional Medical Center on Thursday opened a surge unit in its parking garage. However, hospitals in Southern Nevada said last week they have lower rates of occupancy than they did this time last year and continue to have adequate capacity.

State officials have attributed the surge in part to pandemic fatigue, with people letting their guard down and no longer practicing social distancing and mask-wearing as consistently. However, since the governor’s plea, counties have been reporting higher compliance with mask-wearing at businesses, Peek said.

Staying home for the holidays

Another significant cause of the spread of the virus is small gatherings, according to health officials. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes on its website that “small household gatherings are an important contributor to the rise in COVID-19 cases.”

The governor’s office is expected to soon make recommendations related to gatherings for Thanksgiving, officials said. In the meantime, Cage said it was his personal request that people celebrate Thanksgiving with only their immediate family members to “help us reduce the spread of this virus and reduce the incredible impact it’s having on our hospital and health care system, and reduce the incredible impact it’s having on our economy.”

Peek said she would forgo seeing her grandparents at Thanksgiving. “Their health is more important to me than seeing them this holiday season,” she said.

She urged people to connect with their extended family in nontraditional ways. “We know there’ll be a vaccine soon,” she said. She urged Nevadans to “stay the course” to avoid spreading the virus further, “especially to those who are most vulnerable.”

Peek said some counties have reported cases associated with Halloween activities. However, Southern Nevada Health District spokeswoman Stephanie Bethel said the Clark County agency “has not identified a link to any specific gathering.”

Peek said she knew of no cases related to election activities.

Northern, rural Nevada

The pandemic, which in Nevada initially hit urban Clark County the hardest, has made its way to Northern Nevada and rural parts of the state.

Thirteen of Nevada’s counties have been flagged by state officials as having elevated transmission of COVID-19, with Washoe County having been flagged for eight consecutive weeks. Clark County has been on the list for five consecutive weeks.

Clark County has experienced 865 new cases per 100,000 population in the last 30 days, whereas Washoe County has seen 1,372 per 100,000 population, half again as many.

Carson City has seen 2,108 cases per 100,000, figures that reflect an outbreak at an area correctional facility, state officials said.

Churchill County has experienced 1,461 cases per 100,000 in the past 30 days, and Elko County has seen 1,095 cases per 100,000.

Lincoln County, with a test positivity rate of 47 percent, has seen 500 cases per 100,000.

To assist with efforts to fight the pandemic, 10,000 BinaxNOW rapid tests supplied by the federal government have been distributed to Elko County, 5,000 to the Nevada Department of Corrections, and 23,000 to rural clinics across the state, according to Shannon Litz, a spokeswoman for the state health department.

Contact Mary Hynes at mhynes@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0336. Follow @MaryHynes1 on Twitter.