Saturday marks 6 months since our first case of #COVID19 in Nevada. I wanted to take some time today to talk directly to you about what we’ve learned and why I’m hopeful about our future...
This has been overwhelming for our country and our State and resulted in many sleepless nights. I know mentally and emotionally, we all want this to be over, and to get back to normal. That’s what I want too...
Every single morning, I come in and ask my staff for the latest numbers. I want to see the positive trends and the decreases. I want to lift restrictions. Right now, our numbers are trending in the right direction, but we started with high numbers.
Our case numbers are decreasing and so is our seven-day average test positivity rate. This week, the Nevada Hospital Association reported the lowest confirmed numbers since early July, and we continue to experience a downward trajectory of COVID-19 hospitalizations.
And I know for many listening, you’re thinking “if our numbers are good, then let’s re-open!”-- I understand. But one of the things I’ve learned in last 6 mo is that we have to be careful in our reopening and aggressive in our mitigation.
Nevada is one of only 11 states with over 10% positivity. We must get that down. Our numbers are getting better, but in our high risk counties, we still have work to do. We flattened the curve before. We reopened. We spiked. We can't repeat that...
At this 6 month point, remember when we lift restrictions, we must do so responsibly. Our future economic recovery depends on it.
But am I optimistic? YES.
But am I optimistic? YES.
I know for some of our local leaders, this can be difficult. Trust me, I get it. I come from local government. I understand the pressure and I know everyone is doing their best for their communities in a situation with no playbook.
I get the desire for there to be a lot of finger pointing. I want to do it too. I am mad that there’s no unified national strategy.
If I was sitting outside, I’d be criticizing too, and some of it is justifiable. Some of these things are worthy of critique. I accept that. We try to get better every day. You have my commitment that I’ll always do that.
We can disagree – that's okay. I expect local leaders to advocate for their local communities—that’s their job. As Governor, I’ve done everything I can to focus on our statewide response and consider consequences of our decisions now and into the future.
I want to reassure you: my primary focus is on improving numbers so we can reduce restrictions. I want all businesses open. I want to get back to normal. That’s the goal.
And as Governor, I want to make sure that the rest of this country takes Nevada seriously. And that we keep our workers safe and make sure our visitors feel safe coming here.
I have to consider our hospitality industry, which provides largest number of jobs and helps fund our state. I have to make sure leaders in other states have confidence in sending their residents here. If they think our numbers are too high, they won’t take the risk.
They will place travel restrictions on Nevada, or force a mandatory quarantine when their residents return. If that happens, it won’t matter what we do. That will, effectively, be a shutdown.
That’s the threat we face if we don’t get this right. It’s not just my reality, it’s Nevada’s reality. It’s made for some tough decisions, some that break my heart frankly.
We have to stay on track and think of the long-term economic consequences. I know we can do it.
And I know how tiresome this can all feel. I hear you. Testing, criteria, mitigation. CDC said one thing, then it says another. It’s a lot folks. It’s overwhelming while you’re trying to log onto your kids laptop for zoom school and figure out if your claim went through at DETR.
In past 6 mo, science has developed, and we should review to see what measures should continue, and what ones should not.
As a result, I’ve asked our team to evaluate our current statewide standards and restrictions - that’s everything from evaluating how we open up youth sports or reviewing playgrounds, understanding this is critical but we want everyone to remain safe.
If public health experts agree it’s OK to loosen some things up, we’ll be OK to do that. They’ll still consider the elevated risk factors in each area of our state, but I want to make progress anywhere we can. We're actively working on this now.
We're also reviewing how we approach capacity levels at certain venues. We’ve been researching different approaches across the country so we can do it safely.
Trust me, I want to get back to mass. I want church services to expand their limit. I want businesses to have meetings in large enough spaces where it’s safe. That’s what I’ve asked folks to look at right now.
In the last six months there have been a lot of inconveniences, a lot of sacrifices and a lot of really hard times. I want to take a moment to reflect: especially on those first 30-45 days...
We were competing with other states on the open market for PPE
The private sector task force was chasing masks and gloves all over the world.
The county was constructing tents to try to shelter our homeless population.
The private sector task force was chasing masks and gloves all over the world.
The county was constructing tents to try to shelter our homeless population.
So much happened all at once. It’s hard to remember the chaos. We’ve come a long way. When we look back at the start of this crisis, we see a shared effort to get through. That’s where we need to be now. There’s a pride we need to have in looking out for each other.
We need to focus on long term benefits to get this recovery right. It’ll be better. It’ll be more successful. I know it’s hard to imagine now, but it will.
If any state is going to come back stronger it’s going to be this one. We all have to meet this moment together and I’m proud of the state.
I know a great majority of Nevadans have rallied together, even if they’ve been upset with me on some things, Nevadans have stuck together. That's what we do. #BattleBorn
