Nye County Emergency Management Director Scott Lewis said he appreciates the community’s cooperation in respect to COVID-19 contact tracing. Over 460 positives had been reported in Nye as of Tuesday.
The action involves identifying people who have the infectious disease along with others who may have been exposed.
The tracing also involves asking infected individuals to isolate and to quarantine at home voluntarily.
“People have been great and they have been absolutely candid with us as far as how they feel,” Lewis said. “The COVID-19 contact tracing allows me the opportunity to talk to them directly and that also affords us the chance to determine exactly where they possibly contracted it, what their signs and symptoms are and where the other potential risks and exposures are.”
Lewis also spoke about individuals who have contracted the virus, but show no symptoms.
“It’s very few numbers,” Lewis noted. “Most people have had symptoms, and unfortunately, some people have been extremely sick, and some people have passed away. I have had the unfortunate opportunity to talk to those individuals before they actually became hospitalized, and later succumbed to COVID-19 related illnesses.”
Lewis went on to discuss underlying medical conditions in relation to the virus.
“There’s a lot of questions out there and some think that COVID-19 isn’t killing people because it’s just an underlying medical condition and I understand the thought process but it’s like anything else,” he said. “And yes, they are usually older and do have underlying medical issues, but this clearly is an indicator that it is prevalent throughout our communities, especially in Pahrump and we are trying to take every precaution to make sure that we understand what it is, and take the appropriate steps to minimize the exposure to other people. The hospitals are doing their best to support these patients, especially those who are extremely sick.”
Regarding the accuracy of positive COVID-19 cases throughout the county, Lewis said the numbers are indeed accurate.
“There is no way that the cases that come to me for COVID-19 tracing, can be anything other than legitimate,” he said. “The reason we know that, is number one, there is a test submitted with it, so it shows the completed test results. Number two, we do COVID-19 tracings, so we contact each of those individuals directly, and quite frankly, I’m the one who contacts them at this point. Contact tracing is a painstaking process but it has been very rewarding because it gives us the local ability to go out and talk to them sometimes in person, but most of the time it’s over the telephone. That way, the person knows that someone in the county is watching and they are not alone in this. We have the opportunity to have that one-on-one contact and that has proven to be very beneficial.”
Lewis went to say that communication is key to identifying individuals’ degree of sickness.
“Again, having the chance to talk to these people and hearing how ill or sick they are, and depending on what their medical baseline is, usually dictates how quickly they can recover, but not in every case,” he said. “We have had really healthy people who have become very, very sick, and that’s the reality because it impacts people differently. Through contact tracing, we have been able to identify pretty much up to six tiers of symptoms.”
Following simple safety measures such as wearing a mask, social distancing, and sanitizing, according to Lewis, are the best methods to avoid contracting and spreading the virus.
“Residents should do what’s right for the community,” he advised. “We are trying to maintain our economy and people’s jobs. Any small thing that you can do to contribute to that, is greatly appreciated.”
Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com