Washoe County health officials on Saturday announced a new positive case of COVID-19, marking the 21st case of the new coronavirus in Nevada.

This undated electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, orange, emerging from the surface of cells, gray, cultured in the lab. Also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus causes COVID-19. The sample was isolated from a patient in the U.S. (NIAID-RML via AP)

RENO — Washoe County health officials on Saturday announced a new positive case of COVID-19, marking the 21st case of the new coronavirus in Nevada.

The new case is a man in his 20s with no travel history outside of the area, and represents the first case of community spread in Washoe County.

Washoe County Health District Officer Kevin Dick said that officials had expected that there would eventually be cases in the Reno-Sparks area that had no ties to travel or to the other cases, but said it should be “a wake up call for us that we have COVID-19 in the community.”

“Everybody needs to be taking those precautions and doing the best that we can to try to prevent the spread of any influenza like illness in our community,” Dick added.

Man self-isolating

The man is showing symptoms but is considered stable and self-isolating at home, Dick said. The health district is working to identify any people the man had close contact with to prevent further spreading of the virus through the community.

This is the fourth case of the new virus in Washoe County, and like most others in the state is considered presumptive while officials await for it to be confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Two of Nevada’s 21 cases have been confirmed so far, and those secondary tests have taken several days to complete. Officials consider the initial testing to be highly accurate.

In addition to Washoe County’s four cases, Nevada cases include 16 in Clark County, and one in Carson City.

In most cases the new coronavirus causes only mild to moderate symptoms, such as a cough and fever, and most patients will recover fully within about two weeks without needing special treatment, according to the World Health Organization. But older adults and people with existing health problems are particularly vulnerable to developing more severe illness.

Evaluating options

Given the evidence of a community spread case, Dick said the district is reevaluating its approach and “considering what our options are moving forward.”

On testing for the virus, Dick said the district doesn’t have the ability to test everyone who has a cough or fever at this point. He recommended that if someone thinks they have symptoms of COVID-19, they should contact their health care provider and arrange for a test for the flu or viral panels. Those tests could help screen out if the symptoms are coming from influenza or another type of viral disease not related to the new coronavirus, he added.

Dick said he expects to see increased testing capacity moving forward. But to really expand broad testing throughout the community, a more rapid testing system needs to be developed, similar to those used for the flu, he said.

As fears over the virus have swept through communities, some people have started hoarding massive quantities of toilet paper, cleaning supplies and other provisions.

Dick cautioned against that kind of hoarding behavior, and said that a more measured approach, such as adding a handful of extra items to your grocery cart each week, would help people build up a reserve over time without negatively affecting the rest of the community.

“Think about getting a few more things but don’t try to wipe out the store so nobody else can get their groceries,” Dick said.

Contact Capital Bureau Chief Colton Lochhead at clochhead@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ColtonLochhead on Twitter.