COVID-19 seeing upward trend

The fall season is upon America and as many health experts feared, the country is seeing another big increase in COVID-19 cases, prompting concerns from officials and even leading some states to reinstitute a variety of restrictions in an attempt to curb the swell. Though stricter measures have not yet been put in place here in Nevada, that doesn’t mean such action isn’t being considered, as Gov. Steve Sisolak made clear earlier this week.

Nye County Emergency Management Director Scott Lewis is one of the local officials concerned by the recent spike, expressing his disquiet over the surge of COVID infections in the county during his regular COVID-19 update to the Nye County Commission at its Tuesday, Nov. 10 meeting.

“Commissioners, we’re in a tough spot right now in Nye County. Our COVID trajectory has continued to significantly elevate since my last report. Nye County is among many other Nevada counties that have returned to flagged status due to the significant increase in COVID cases,” Lewis told commissioners and the public that morning.

He explained that a majority of new Nye County cases were occurring in Pahrump but the county is also seeing increased numbers in other, smaller communities. “Specifically, Pahrump is now at 848 cases. Amargosa has risen to 20. Beatty remains steady at 13. Tonopah has more than doubled to 60. Smoky Valley has four and Gabbs had one. That leaves us with a grand total of… 922, so as you can see, we are slowly edging our way toward 1,000.”

By the Thursday morning update provided by Nye County Public Information Officer Arnold Knightly, those numbers had risen to 941 confirmed cases.

Lewis said contact tracing is helping the county identify COVID-19 hot spots, which include educational facilities such as Nye County School District schools, hospitals, detention centers, federal facilities in Northern Nye County, religious environments and family gatherings and activities.

“One church (First Southern Baptist Church) has been closed until further notice. Our local high school is virtual learning only and this is the second of the two weeks (of that closure) and several additional classrooms have been closed, with students and staff quarantined,” Lewis detailed.

He reminded the community that testing continues to be conducted and remarked that there has been notable interest in receiving a test over the past two weeks, which Lewis said he was glad to see. However, he said contact tracing has also revealed that many people who are symptomatic are refusing to be tested for the virus and he emphasized how important it is that anyone experiencing symptoms seek out testing resources.

“So we want to encourage that. Testing is paramount to understanding where we are within the county,” Lewis stated.

Local testing available

Nye County and the Nye County Sheriff’s Office have partnered with Serenity Health to provide regular drive-up testing in Pahrump, both for active COVID-19 infections and antibody tests, to the community. Testing is available each Monday night from 7 to 9 p.m. as well as on Wednesday and Friday mornings from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Simply show up at 2280 E. Calvada Blvd., Suite 301 to receive a test. Residents are reminded they must stay in their vehicles.

For those in Tonopah and other areas of northern Nye County, testing is available by appointment. Call Central Nevada Regional Care at 775-302-5800 or Tonopah Primary Care at 775-482-9898.

Those utilizing these testing resources are asked to bring identification and, if they have it, their insurance card. Those who do not have health insurance will still receive a test.

Other testing resources can be located by visiting the state’s test site finder at www.nvhealthresponse.nv.gov

Governor’s press conference

Lewis is far from the only official to express concern with the recent increase in COVID-19 cases.

In Nevada, mitigation measures have yet to be adjusted in response to the upward swing in the pandemic but Sisolak warned Nevadans he will not hesitate to establish increased restrictions if the current trend is not reversed.

During a press conference held Tuesday, Nov. 10, Sisolak urged residents to stay at home as much as possible over the next two weeks. It’s being called “Stay at Home 2.0” and though Sisolak said he would not shut down the state again at this time, it appears to be a very real possibility in the coming weeks.

“As you are all aware, our country and states are on a very rough course…” Sisolak stated. “Nevadans need to accept and understand this reality now and change behaviors immediately.”

Sisolak reiterated that Nevadans “…must act right now to keep our economy open…” and encouraged people to follow all of the measures that have been repeatedly publicized, including frequent hand washing, maintaining social distancing and wearing face masks any time they are in public. He stressed that wearing a mask properly is key, noting that correct usage of a mask means it covers both the mouth and nose completely.

Sisolak also asked residents to work from home as much as possible over the next two weeks and avoid family gatherings and other public activities that draw large groups of people together. Indoor events, both professional and personal, are discouraged and he is asking local governments to step up their enforcement of existing mitigation measures as well.

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com