Desert View reports ‘zero trend’ for COVID-19 for part of June

Desert View Hospital announced Wednesday, June 17 that there have been zero inpatients with confirmed diagnoses of COVID-19 at the facility during the month thus far.

“Seeing ‘zero’ trend in our daily statistics report for confirmed cases has been a highlight,” Desert View Hospital CEO Susan Davila said. “We want to thank our community for helping flatten the curve and slow the spread that allowed our health care providers to treat patients without exceeding our capacity,” Davila continued.

The number of COVID-19 cases diagnosed at Desert View has been less than a dozen, according to a spokeswoman.

In an email, Gretchen Papez, a spokeswoman for Desert View, said, “At this time, we’ve had a total of 11 positive COVID-19 cases diagnosed at Desert View Hospital.”

Pahrump, along with greater Nye County, have seen a total of 80 cases, according to state data as of Tuesday. According to the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Analytics, 2,315 Nye County residents have had a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) diagnostic test for COVID-19.

The state office also reported three COVID-19 deaths of Nye County residents.

Nye’s numbers are much lower than in neighboring Clark County. As of Tuesday, the state reported 11,186 confirmed cases in Clark with 402 deaths due to COVID-19.

Because of the limited number of COVID-19 cases within Pahrump and Nye County, Desert View Hospital resumed performing all outpatient surgeries and procedures in early May and allows inpatient visitation from noon to 8 p.m. daily with one visitor per patient.

Each emergency patient and surgery patient may also have one visitor accompany them for the duration of the ER visit and before surgery, respectively. All patients, employees, physicians and visitors must undergo a screening before they can enter the hospital.

“As the pandemic evolves and more medical information is disseminated, it is our commitment to continue to provide the safest care possible to our community,” Davila said. “We continue to diligently work with the Department of Emergency Management, Pahrump Valley Fire and Rescue and the Nye County sheriff’s department in order to provide these services.”

This milestone does not mean that there will not be more sick patients in the future, but “it’s a nice metric to see as we look toward the continued reopening of Pahrump, Nye County and the state,” said Davila.

As California and its national parks, including Death Valley, begin to open up, the hospital staff remains vigilant in the arrival and diagnosis of ER patients with coronavirus symptoms.

“Our team has worked tirelessly to stay up to date with the latest news, treatments and recommendations on the care of COVID-19 patients and the protection of patients, visitors, employees and medical staff,” Chief Nursing Officer Bonnie Stolzman said.

“We are pleased to mark a two-week milestone for zero confirmed COVID-19 patients, but we all need to remain on high alert about the health and well-being of anyone who comes to the hospital and continue adhering to social distancing, wearing a face cover and washing hands,” Davila said.

On the state level, 13,997 confirmed positives were noted on the nvhealthresponse.nv.gov web page, with 492 deaths, which includes the three Nye County residents.

Nevada and Clark County had the highest number of cases recorded in a single day on Tuesday.

According to the Southern Nevada Health District, 412 new COVID-19 were reported on Tuesday for Clark County. The previous one-day high was 407, according to the health district’s data. The number of cases in Clark County as of Tuesday was 11,186.

According to state data, 462 new cases were confirmed in Nevada on Tuesday, surpassing the previous one-day record of 445 on Friday.

The positivity rate since the pandemic began, according to state data, sits at 5.6%, still below 10%, the recommended rate from the World Health Organization to reopen. Nevada went below 10% in mid-May, according to the state's data.

The seven-day moving average, according to the state, sat at 9.8% for a positivity rate on Tuesday. The number has been on the increase since mid-June when the seven-day moving average was below 5%.