Today, I wanted to update Nevadans on our progress and status under Phase 2 of our phased reopening plans in response to COVID-19, as set forth in Nevada United: Roadmap to Recovery.
I know many of you have been tracking the virus throughout each phase of our reopening, just as I have. Recently, we’ve experienced some trends that require additional evaluation and analysis. These include an upward trend in the number of new daily cases in the last 3 weeks.
Our testing has increased, and our cumulative positivity rate is holding steady or continues to decline -- with today’s positivity rate at 5.2% . The 7-day average percentage of positive results is increasing.
Today we saw a lower number of cases than has been reported over the last few days, but it is too early to tell if previous increases or yesterday’s decrease is due to a change in trend. We need to make sure we allow ourselves the ability & time to continue evaluating.
There has been a consistent increase in confirmed hospitalizations since 6/5. The Nevada Hospital Association indicates we are still in a “plateau range” of between 372 & 340 confirmed & suspected cases in hospitals.
This indicates that the increased number of cases in the community has not manifested into serious disease at this point that requires hospitalization, however, this must be closely monitored. There’s a lot of info out there and a lot of numbers, so it’s best to summarize:
We had the expectation as a result of reopening & an increase in testing, our positive cases were likely to increase. We have seen an increase in positive cases, & that has yet to negatively impact the capacity of hospitals. We are taking this seriously, as we have all along.
A guiding principle in Nevada United: Roadmap to Recovery, is "The State’s management of the recovery and reopening process must remain flexible at all times, with ongoing monitoring of local and statewide data reporting and analysis."
We included flexibility as one of our core principles then to account for the situation we see now. When I signed the Phase 2 directive, I set it to extend until 6/30, to give us time to watch data & make responsible medically-driven decisions in the best interest of Nevada.
I said I would evaluate 2 to 3 weeks worth of data in making decisions on moving forward, or if necessary, pausing to determine if Nevada is still moving in the right direction.
On Friday, we hit two weeks since Phase 2 officially began and this Thursday will mark two weeks since gaming properties in Nevada were able to reopen with social distancing conditions and other restrictions set out by the Gaming Control Board in line with the State standards.
Before expanding our reopening & entering Phase 3, we must continue to allow ourselves the time to evaluate the data along with the impact of reopening to make sure we are doing all we can to protect ourselves & the capacity of our health care system.
We were able to enter Phases 1 & 2 because Nevadans were staying home as much as possible, generally wearing face coverings, washing hands frequently & maintaining 6 feet of social distancing. Now is the time to double down on them. We can only stay open if we stay safe.
There are a lot of ideas behind what’s driving the increase in cases but we need to allow our expanded contact tracing system time to assess where these new cases may have originated. Contact tracing will help us identify a response to address increase in cases at the source.
This weekend, we tripled the capacity for contact tracing . Contact tracers are working 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, contacting people who have tested positive, asking about who they may have come in close contact with & following up with those contacts.
This well-established, public health strategy of early detection, tracing and investigating positive cases, along with the data on cases and hospitalizations, will help inform us and empower us to act in ways that protect the public from this virus.
We know from the latest recommendations from the CDC that large gatherings carry a greater risk & that wearing a face covering in gatherings helps reduce the risk. Please, also try to maintain at least 6 feet of social distancing & practice proper hand hygiene.
States know that reopening at any pace comes the risk of community spread & increased cases. Nevada is no different. We will continue to evaluate data, listen to the medical community, monitor new developments, and determine next steps each day.
As a reminder, the Nevada United: Roadmap to Recovery plan is federally supported, state managed and locally executed. Our local governments are empowered to do what they do best: respond to the situation in their respective communities.
I want to remind these local leaders: you may use the existing authority set forth in my reopening emergency directives to implement stricter standards than have been set forth by the State if you feel that’s in the best interest of your area.
I will stand by & support each locality that makes the decision to tighten restrictions & keep residents healthy. We can maintain a statewide, shared goal of keeping Nevadans & visitors safe while we restart our economy & we can protect our communities that need it the most.
