Staff Reports

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This story about how the COVID-19 outbreak is affecting Nevada communities is being updated throughout the day on Tuesday, March 24.

UNR to hold virtual commencement ceremony

The University of Nevada, Reno cancelled in-person commencement ceremonies in May in response to the coronavirus.

Instead, commencements will be held in a “virtual fashion,” according a news release from UNR.

School officials also announced all courses will be conducted remotely for the remainder of the spring semester, regardless of campus alternative operations.

Even if Gov. Steve Sisolak lifts the orders asking Nevadans to stay home on April 16, classes will continue to be conducted remotely, according to the news release.

School officials have not made any decision for the summer or fall semesters.

Half dozen new cases reported

Six new cases of the coronavirus were reported, bumping the total to 50 cases in Washoe County, according to the Washoe County Health District.

“Due to the growing number of cases, the Health District is only reporting on the number of additional cases and total cases at this time,” health officials said in a news release on Tuesday.

An individual who was previously confirmed positive has fully recovered, bringing the total recoveries to four cases.

Two more deaths reported, Sisolak updates state on coronavirus efforts

LAS VEGAS – The Southern Nevada Health District is reporting two deaths related to COVID-19.

The illness took the lives of a man in his 70s with underlying medical conditions and a woman in her 50s with underlying conditions.

The total number of deaths in Nevada related to the pandemic is six.

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak will hold a briefing at 5:15 p.m. Tuesday via Facebook to address the state’s response to the spread.

Emergency alert sent in error

Some residents in Washoe County on Tuesday mistakenly got an emergency alert telling them that the state had ordered all residents to stay home.

The message was intended for residents of Nevada County only, and was accidentally sent to some Nevadans as well, according to a tweet from Washoe County.

In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom has ordered all residents to stay at home unless traveling out for essential needs.

UPDATE: TMCC employee tests positive, district says person wasn't contagious

A Truckee Meadows Community College employee has tested positive for COVID-19, according to a press release.

A warning issued by the community college on Tuesday notified staff and students that possible contact may have been made with this person at the Fitness Building located at TMCC’s Dandini Campus on Mar. 11.

It’s unclear if that is where this person worked. The Washoe County Health District said the employee who tested positive was not contagious when they were last on campus, according to a spokesperson.

The Washoe County Health District is working to trace and reach out to those who may have come into contact with this person.

The college, which closed its campus on March 18, received notice of the positive test on Monday evening. The employee who tested positive is in isolation at home.

“TMCC will continue working collaboratively with the Washoe County Health District and all county, state, and federal health officials regarding COVID-19,” said President Karin Hilgersom in press release announcing the positive test. “The health and well-being of our students and employees remains our highest priority.”

Renown CEO to stage press conference Tuesday afternoon

President and CEO of Renown Health Tony Slonim will have an online press conference at 3 p.m. Tuesday. Renown said Slonim will talk about efforts in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. He is also expected to talk about plans to increase capacity for patients.

Slonim has said there is an anticipated surge of COVID-19 cases expected in Northern Nevada.

Slonim, who has been at the helm of Renown since 2014, talked candidly in an interview with the Reno Gazette Journal last week about the shortcomings of the medical system in Nevada, where testing for COVID-19 is still low. He also addressed navigating a health care system in a state where finding enough doctors has always been a struggle.

On Monday evening, the Reno Gazette Journal published a story based on interviews with three nurses at Renown who said the hospital is failing to isolate and test possible coronavirus patients. The nurses also said they being asked to reuse single use face masks and other protective gear.

Washoe asks county employees to self-isolate if they've flown domestically

Washoe County has asked any county employee who has flown on an airliner to Las Vegas or domestically in the past week to self-isolate for 14 days and work from home.

The decision came after the Washoe County Health District on Sunday issued a travel advisory saying that any person who traveled by air should isolate themselves and keep an eye out for coronavirus symptoms.

“This difficult decision has been made as a result of COVID-19 positive cases which were symptomatic during recent air travel inbound to Reno and to protect the well-being of Washoe County’s Health District workforce,” said an email sent to all county employees.

Those who were asked to self-isolate were asked to work from home if they could. Those that could not work from home were placed on paid administrative leave.

The county does not have a count of how many employees were sent home. Amy Ventetuolo, a county spokesperson, said it is too early to tell if the decision has had any effect on county operations.

UNLV medical school to start curbside testing

LAS VEGAS – UNLV Medicine is now conducting free curbside COVID-19 testing for members of the public who meet U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for testing.

A person exhibiting symptoms defined by the CDC or who have been in close contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case can call 702-583-4408 between 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monday-Friday for an appointment.

All callers must answer a series of questions to determine if they meet the CDC criteria. On arrival, they will be screened again.

The curbside COVID-19 testing will take place for the next two weeks – or until its current supply of test kits is depleted.

Nasal swab tests will be used in the parking area outside UNLV Medicine, 1125 Shadow Lane, Las Vegas. Patients will be directed to a drive-up testing station where a medical professional conducts the test with the patient sits in the vehicle.

Nevada gets OK from FDA to drop federal oversight to develop testing

Nevada can now determine if newly-developed COVID-19 testing kits are safe and effective without oversight from the FDA, making it one of just three states in the nation with the flexibility to do so.

The new flexibility will hopefully expedite the process of finding new ways to test for coronavirus, hopefully expanding the state’s ability to test, Dr. Mark Pandori, director of the Nevada State Public Health Laboratory said in a press release on Tuesday.

“This change in Nevada’s status will allow the State of Nevada, not the FDA, to determine whether products associated with testing are safe and effective for testing,” Pandori said.

The new development does not mean every citizen will be tested, according to the release. But it will expand the healthcare system’s ability to test those with serious symptoms, most vulnerable citizens and healthcare workers most likely to come in contact with the disease.

Cases jump to 278 in Nevada

The number of positive COVID-19 tests in Nevada grew again on Tuesday morning to 278, according to the Nevada Health Response’s coronavirus dashboard.

An increase of 33 positive tests over Monday’s figure, which stood at 245.

The dashboard does not say where those 33 new positives are located.

The number of people reported tested at labs around the state also increased. On Monday, the dashboard reported that 3,735 people had been tested at public and private labs across the state. By Tuesday, that figure grew to 4,232 people tested.

Four people have so far died from the virus. All of those deaths have been in Clark County.

Nineteen new cases were reported in Washoe County late Monday afternoon, increasing the county total to 44 cases. Three of those infected individuals have fully recovered.

Nurses: Renown employees reusing masks, tests lacking for patients with symptoms

21% of 212 Southern Nevada cases have been hospitalized

LAS VEGAS – Of the 212 COVID-19 cases reported in Southern Nevada, 44 patients have been hospitalized, according to health officials.

More 45 percent of reported cases – 97 in total – involve patients between the ages of 25 and 49, according the Southern Nevada Health District.

Patients ages 50-64 make up 59 of the cases – or 28 percent.

Patients over 65 total 41 – or 19 percent.

Nevada's private sector could lose up to 67,000 jobs by June

LAS VEGAS – Nevadans working in the private sector will face some of the harshest cuts as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

By summertime, the Silver State is projected to log a 5.3 percent loss of 66,656 private sector jobs – many of them in the leisure, hospitality and retail industries, according to economic analysts David Cooper and Julia Wolfe.

Nationally, the economy is expected to contract by 2.5 percent in the first six months of 2020, a rapid battering of industry that could translate to 3 million jobs lost by June, according to Goldman Sachs.

Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan both provided bleaker forecasts, according to the Economic Policy Institute: 7.5 million jobs lost by June.

The hardest-hit states include those with the most workers in food service, accommodations and brick-and-mortar retail: Florida, Hawaii and Nevada.

An estimated 206,000 Nevada casino employees are out of work in the wake of the unprecedented statewide shutdown to fight the spread of COVID-19.

That’s according to the American Gaming Association, the lobbying giant in the corner of U.S. casinos now calling for the federal government to act “swiftly and comprehensively” to get resort employees nationwide working again.

Nevada gambling screeched to a halt last week, when Gov. Steve Sisolak issued a statewide shutdown order to arrest COVID-19.

Chelcey Adami is the visuals and breaking news editor at the Reno Gazette-Journal. She can be reached at cadami@gannett.com and 831-277-8763. Please support local journalism by subscribing here to the Reno Gazette Journal.