Nye sees jump in COVID-19 numbers

Nye County reported a recent uptick in COVID-19 cases, with Pahrump carrying the majority of the new cases.

Since June 29, COVID-19 cases have risen from 103 to 164 as of Tuesday, according to Nye County. Over three dozen cases were reported within the Nye County Sheriff’s Office and the Nye County Detention Center in Pahrump, including staff and inmates, since the end of June.

Nye County Sheriff’s Office Capt. David Boruchowitz said in an email on June 30, “We are managing as a whole very well.”

The Nye County Sheriff’s Office reported four people testing positive within the sheriff’s office and more than 10 employees on quarantine at the end of June. Among the positive cases was one person in the detectives division, and the rest were detention staff.

On Tuesday, the sheriff’s office reported 35 additional cases, 30 inmates and four additional detention staff in Pahrump and one street deputy.

The detention center in Pahrump is currently housing 157 inmates; the detention center has a capacity of 240.

“They are isolated in their own pod,” Boruchowitz said in an email on Tuesday. “Those with symptoms (are) also isolated.”

The detention center in Tonopah is currently housing 22 inmates, according to Boruchowitz.

The Pahrump Valley Times asked Boruchowitz if the recent uptick in cases will change any of the safety or other protocols within the sheriff’s office.

“They will not,” Boruchowitz said. “We have taken precautions previously, and although we have some positive, our staff are all wearing masks and following appropriate CDC guidelines for safety.”

On June 29, Pahrump had a total of 103 COVID-19 cases, according to Nye County. That number has since increased to now 164 ( roughly a 59% jump) as of Tuesday.

The majority of the uptick has been seen in Pahrump.

On June 30, Nye reported a total of 86 confirmed cases in Pahrump—52 active cases. On Tuesday that number jumped to 147—113 active.

As of Tuesday, Amargosa Valley had seven active cases, and Beatty had two. No active cases were noted in Tonopah as of Tuesday.

Three Nye County residents have died from COVID-19, according to Nye County.

At the state level, there have been 23,785 reported positive cases in Nevada as of Tuesday from the start of the pandemic, which includes Nye County’s totals. As of Tuesday, Clark County had 19,654 positive cases out of that statewide total with Washoe County at 3,260. Nevada’s positivity rate was 7.6% on Tuesday for the cumulative totals since the pandemic began. The seven-day moving average was 14.9%.

Contact Interim Editor Jeffrey Meehan at jmeehan@pvtimes.com On Twitter: @pvtimes