This is a developing story and will be updated.

Renown to open tent to screen all ER patients

Renown Health will open a tent in its emergency room parking lot at its Mill Street hospital parking lot to screennpeople with respitatory illnesses amid growing worry over the coronavirus.

Renown did not immediately know when the tent would open but said all ER patients would be evaluated before entering the hospital. Media have been invited to tour the triage tent Thursday.

The tent is a “precautionary measure,” and Renown emphasized there are no known cases of patients at Renown with coronavirus.

“This proactive step to separate patients with symptoms of respiratory illness who need emergency medical care will protect patients in the emergency department and other areas of the hospital. Transmission of respiratory illness from patient to patient is not the only concern as healthcare workers can get sick, too,” Renown said in a statement.

Triage tents pitched outside Vegas hospital

Update: 7:30 p.m.

LAS VEGAS – Tents have been pitched outside Sunrise Hospital and Sunrise Children’s Hospital to prepare for a surge of coronavirus patients.

“We need to be able to triage and sort those patients and even do some initial screening,” said Jeffrey Murawsky, chief medical officer at Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center. “In an outside tent that is well ventilated, you’re able to space people out and reduce risk, so it’s a great way to accomplish this.”

The tents have been positioned in the parking lot outside the adult emergency department and in the ambulance bay of the children’s emergency department.

“Outside is a great well-ventilated environment for places like Las Vegas to triage and do initial screening with enough space for the patients to be about six feet apart,” Murawsky said.

Currently, the tents are not in use.

“Just preparing in case a surge happens,” Murawsky said. “The most important thing everyone can do is to wash their hands and stay home when you have a fever.”

No more fans at Wolf Pack spring games

The Nevada Athletics department released a statement Wednesday afternoon saying all spring games will be limited to essential staff and family, coaches and accredited media.

The Football Silver and Blue Game is cancelled along with the Grit Run and all volleyball and soccer camps.

UNLV also closed its athletic events. The two universities released a joint statement:

"In alignment with the NCAA's decision on its upcoming championship events, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and the University of Nevada, Reno, will conduct its upcoming spring season athletic competitions with only game essential staff in attendance. The health and safety of student-athletes, coaches, staff and fans is the top priority. The institutions will continue to evaluate and assess the impact of COVID-19 in consultation with local health officials, the Mountain West Conference and campus colleagues and continue to follow federal, state and NSHE guidelines and best practices."

On the Nevada campus, all scheduled baseball and softball games as well tennis matches will be conducted only with essential staff, family members of student-athletes and coaches, and accredited media allowed in attendance. Games will still be broadcast with scheduled radio and Mountain West Network coverage.

Related athletic events and competitions, including the Silver and Blue Spring Game and Grit Run, spring/volleyball soccer camps and games, and cheer clinics scheduled through the end of April have also been canceled. Practices on the university campus are closed to the public.

Nevada's top cop warns of potential coronavirus scams

Update, 3:00 p.m.

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford is again warning residents to watch what they click as coronavirus-related scams continue to swirl around the internet.

The Silver State’s top cop on Wednesday told reporters cybercriminals posing as health officials are using mass emails, social media disinformation and fake charities to profit from the potentially deadly pandemic.

Ford did not specify how many Nevadans had fallen victim to such scams, but said he had heard reports of malware-infected emails received from fraudsters masquerading as the World Health Organization or the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

He said other scammers are hawking phony virus cures and hiking prices on in-demand products such as face masks and hand sanitizer. The first-term Democrat said attorneys general in other states had even warned him about televangelists selling fake remedies for the fast-moving respiratory ailment.

Ford urged consumers to do their research avoid clicking on emails from people they don’t know.

“In times of fear, individuals and businesses see opportunities to try to capitalize on uncertainty, and the coronavirus is no different,” he added. “Fear can cause even the most cautious individual to let their guard down and fall victim to scams.

“If there were a medical breakthrough, it would not be advertised for the first time through a sales pitch.”

Ford did not rule out the possibility that his office could help enforce a two-week quarantine imposed on some Nevadans known to have been exposed to the virus.

Residents who suspect they may have been scammed are encouraged to file a complaint with the Attorney General’s office at ag.nv.gov or by calling 888-434-9989. Complaints can also be filed with the Federal Trade Commission at ftccomplaintassistant.gov.

UNR, TMCC prep for possibility of closing campuses

Update, 2:10 p.m.

The University of Nevada, Reno and Truckee Meadows Community College said meetings are happening regularly, sometimes daily, in preparation for an outbreak of coronavirus, including preparation for closing both campuses.

“We are taking coronavirus seriously and preparing for various eventualities or scenarios, from suspending some operations and some events, offering classes remotely, to a full suspension of classes, an outbreak and the closure of campus,” said UNR spokesperson Kerri Garcia.

Across the country, universities are closing in response to COVID-19.

Harvard, Georgetown, Pepperdine, Notre Dame and the entire State University of New York announced Wednesday they would move to online instruction.

UNR and TMCC are on spring break next week.

“At this time, the university has not decided to suspend operations, events or classes,” Garcia said. “But due to this being a very fluid situation, this of course could change at any time.

Garcia said the Issues Management Team is holding meetings and working with county and state agencies regarding coronavirus.

UNR said it has been working with faculty to prepare for situations that could disrupt class schedules, including providing guidance should it be necessary to move to online delivery of classes.

TMCC was meeting Wednesday afternoon to discuss coronavirus.

"Next week is spring break here at TMCC, and this afternoon will be a more in-depth discussion with our academic faculty regarding remote teaching and learning resource,” TMCC Spokesperson Kate Kirkpatrick said.

CDC confirms Nevada's 1st reported COVID case; more details given on new cases

Update, 1:55 p.m.

Health officials in Clark County said during a press conference the CDC confirmed the state’s first known case of coronavirus in a man in his 50’s who’d recently traveled to Washington and Texas.

It’s the second CDC-confirmed case in Nevada, which has a total of seven presumptive cases across the state.

All cases which test positive in local labs are considered presumptive until they are confirmed by the CDC, a process that can take several days.

The Wednesday afternoon briefing came on the heels of an announcement that three additional people had tested presumptively positive for COVID-19 — two people who had contact with a previously known case and a woman from New York who recently attended the Women of Power Summit at The Mirage.

Authorities are still working to investigate how many close contacts those people may have had.

The Women of Power Summit was a four-day conference at The Mirage resort and casino on the Las Vegas strip from March 5-8.

There were more than 1,000 registered attendees, according to the conference website.

Officials are also investigating if the woman visited any other properties on the strip.

“We want to know every single detail about where she had been during those days,” said Fermin Leguen, district health officer for the Southern Nevada Health District.

A release from MGM Resorts, which owns The Mirage, said professional cleaners with “expertise in the area of deep cleaning” are sanitizing the woman’s room.

The resort is coordingating with authorities to notify guests and employees who may have ahd close, prolongued contact with the woman.

As testing continues, Leguen said the testing lab in southern Nevada has caopacity for about 100 tests on hand and another 800 on the way.

LIVE: Southern Nevada Health District briefs after 3 new cases announced

Update, 12:58 p.m.

The Southern Nevada Health District is holding a press briefing shortly after it announced three new presumptive cases of COVID-19.

Watch the briefing here:

3 new cases announced in Clark County

Update, 12:32 p.m.

Officials in Clark County announced three new cases of presumptive COVID-19 in Clark County, bringing the total number of cases in Clark County to five and the total number of cases in the state to seven, according to a press release.

The cases include a woman in her 40's visiting from New York who attended the Women of Power Summit at the Mirage and two people who had close contact with a a previously reported case.

The Southern Nevada Health District said it is working with the Mirage and organizers of the Women of Power Summit to inform attendees and identify people who came in close contact with the individual.

Details on the new cases, from the SNHD release:

A female in her 40s who was hospitalized on March 8. She is isolated and in stable condition. This individual is a visitor from New York. She arrived in Las Vegas on March 5, and attended the Women of Power Summit at The Mirage. The Health District is working with the facility and conference organizers to inform attendees and to identify close contacts of this individual.

A male in his 60s who is isolating at home and is a close contact of a previously reported case.

A female in her 70s who is isolating at home and is a close contact of a previously reported case.

SNDH is scheduled to hold a press conference regarding the new cases at 1 p.m.

Broadcaster conference canceled in Vegas

Update, 12:10 p.m.

LAS VEGAS – The National Association of Broadcasters has canceled its annual conference in Las Vegas due to coronavirus concerns.

“In the interest of addressing the health and safety concerns of our stakeholders and in consultation with partners throughout the media and entertainment industry, we have decided not to move forward with NAB Show in April,” said Gordon H. Smith, NAB president and CEO, said in a statement. “We are currently considering a number of potential alternatives to create the best possible experience for our community.”

The conference was scheduled for April 18 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

“This was not an easy decision,” Smith said. “We are still weighing the best potential path forward, and we ask you for your patience as we do so.”

Nevada to get $6.5 million from CDC for COVID-19 response

Update, 11: 38 a.m.

Nevada is receiving over $6.5 million from the CDC to support the local response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The money is Nevada's portion of $560 million being distributed nationally to aid in the response to the outbreak.

Officials from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services say the funding will be distributed "extremely rapidly," according to a release.

Police chief: First responders need cruise passenger addresses to ensure safety

Update, 11:20 a.m.

Reno Police Chief Jason Soto said Wednesday the Washoe County District Health Department has not responded to his request for more information about the passengers returning to the area from the previously quarantined Grand Princess cruise ship.

State officials announced Tuesday that the passengers would be returning to Nevada and would self-quarantine in their homes.

Soto said he and other first responders in the community have asked for a list of addresses so they can be properly prepared if they have to respond to an emergency at the home of one of the quarantined passengers.

Soto said he’s reached out to the district several times since Tuesday with no response.

“We want to make sure first responders have access to information that is critical to the well-being of the entire community,” Soto said. “I’m not asking for personal information. I’m not asking for names. We just want to be able to respond with personal protective equipment if needed to keep everybody safe.”

Soto stressed it’s important for first responders to avoid becoming carriers because of their heavy contact with community members.

Washoe County Health Officer Kevin Dick said the agency is still reviewing patient privacy laws to determine whether he can share the location information with law enforcement.

“We are reviewing the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and our legal obligations to ensure privacy of patient information before responding to the request. We are working with the Washoe County District Attorney’s Office, the Nevada Attorney General’s Office and other health authorities in Nevada to determine our ability to provide this information to public safety partners in a manner that complies with federal and state laws regarding privacy and protected medical information.”

Dick would not comment Tuesday on the number of passengers or about when or where the passengers would arrive in the community.

He said that officials in proper protective gear would transport the passengers to their individual homes. He also said the district would rely on volunteers with the Community Emergency Response Team to help deliver any needed food and supplies to the passengers for their 14-day quarantines.

UNR Cancels Reno Jazz Festival

Update, 11:10 a.m.

The University of Nevada, Reno has canceled its Reno Jazz Festival because of fears of coronavirus. The annual event put on by the Reno’s School of the Arts has put on the event for 58 years. The annual event was scheduled for April 23-25.

“After considerable thought and deliberation, we feel that canceling the event is the respectful and prudent choice,” said Special Events Program Manager for the School of the Arts Shoshana Zeldner, said. “It is always a difficult decision to cancel events and the health and safety of the students, artists, teachers, volunteers, and event staff is our highest priority.”

“With nearly 9,000 people involved with this annual event, we appreciate and request everyone’s patience and understanding with regard to the dissemination of information related to the cancelation,” said Zeldner. “The Reno Jazz Festival is committed to providing an exceptional educational experience for aspiring jazz musicians and vocalists and we are sorry we won’t be able to provide this opportunity in 2020. While we are incredibly disappointed that this year’s festival will not take place, we are appreciative of the community’s support in helping us continue the Festival in 2021.”

Participating schools and attendees will receive full refunds for all purchases including, Festival group registration fees, passes and individual concert tickets.

No briefing currently scheduled in Washoe

Update, 10:45 a.m.

A Washoe County Health District spokesperson said there is no scheduled briefing on COVID-19 on Wednesday, but that could change if the situation develops.

There are no new cases in the area as of this morning, he said.

Two of the four Nevadan's who have tested positive for coronavirus are in Washoe County.

One of those cases has been confirmed by the CDC, while the other is still "presumptively positive," meaning it tested positive in a local lab but hasn't been federally verified.

COVID-19 press briefing announced in Vegas

Update, 10:26 a.m.

LAS VEGAS – The Southern Nevada Health District will hold a press briefing today to update the public on confirmed COVID-19 cases reported in the community.

District officials have not yet set a start time.

There are two “presumptive positive” coronavirus cases in Southern Nevada. The first case centered on a 50-year-old Clark County man in serious condition who traveled to both Texas and Washington.

Health officials in Las Vegas have been waiting for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention to confirm the case.

At a press briefing on March 7, Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak said those results would soon arrive.

The second case in Clark County centers on a woman in her 70s. She experienced COVID-19 symptoms after traveling within the state. The patient is hospitalized and in isolation.

170 tested in the state, NV says

Original post, 9:55 a.m.

Over 170 people in the state of Nevada have been tested for COVID-19, according to new numbers released by the state.

Out of that figure, four have tested presumptively positive.

The number of positive results hasn't grown since Sunday, when the third and fourth presumptive positives were announced in Clark and Washoe counties, despite scares of potential exposure at a Reno middle school and the potential that some of the sick had been here undetected for weeks.

So far both cases in Washoe County — the first in a man in his 50's and the second in a man in his 30's — have been traceable to travel in other parts of the country. The man in his 50's, Washoe County's first case who'd been connected to the Grand Princess cruise outbreak, has been confirmed positive by the Center for Disease Control.

So far, according to Kevin Dick, the county health officer, there's been no evidence of the virus spreading on its own through the community.

But that doesn't mean it hasn't.

"At this point I wouldn't be surprised if we had additional cases that occurred in our community," Dick told reporters at a press briefing on Tuesday afternoon. "We don't know if that will occur or not; we're still currently very low with two cases."

Testing at the state's two labs — one at the University of Nevada in Reno and another in Clark County — continues with new criteria established by the state that should broaden who gets tested, and Dick said Nevada will continue to try and fight the spread of the disease through quarantine and tracing the contacts of those feared infected.

Currently, according to state figures, 164 people are under supervision of a public health entity. Another 341 people had previously been under supervision but completed their 14-day quarantine without developing symptoms.

The state will also soon be bringing home 49 Nevadans who were held on the Grand Princess for nearly a week off the coast of California after several dozen passengers and crew tested positive for COVID-19.

All of them are currently not showing symptoms, and will be transported back to their homes in the north and south of the state via secure, isolated flights. Once here, they will be immediately put into a 14-day at home quarantine.

Where is the coronavirus? Interactive map shows cases in Nevada and beyond

How to prevent the spread of COVID-19

Just like the flu, health officials say the best way to fight the spread of coronavirus is:

Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds

avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth

Avoid close contact with sick people

Stay home when you are sick

Clean and disinfect touched objects and surfaces frequently

Las Vegas takes precautions due to Coronavirus

LAS VEGAS – Buffet changes are coming to Wynn Las Vegas.

On Wednesday, the buffet will use culinary staff at each food station to serves guests, “eliminating the need for guests to touch serving utensils,” according to Wynn spokesman Jesse Williams.

Buffets are usually self-serve experiences, but concerns about coronavirus have forced properties along the Strip to change procedures as a way to limit community spread.

“In addition, we are routinely cleaning all hard surfaces and have placed hand sanitizing stations at the entrance for guests to utilize prior to entry,” Williams said in a statement. “All of our restaurants continue to maintain the highest possible standards of cleanliness.”

On March 15, MGM Resorts International will temporarily close buffets at the company's seven Strip properties: ARIA, Bellagio, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, The Mirage, Luxor and Excalibur.

"These changes are temporary and will be evaluated on a weekly basis," the company said in a statement to the USA TODAY Network.

Properties of Caesars Entertainment – the largest MGM competitor on the Strip – will keep buffets open.

"We are incorporating cleaning and hygiene protocols into the buffets as well as the rest of our operations across the company," the company said in a statement.

Due to growing concerns about COVID-19, Vegas PBS is canceling a Census 2020 Town Hall the local television station had scheduled for Thursday.

While an audience will not be permitted in the studio, a panel discussion will continue. The station is working on live streaming the programs.

Viewers can check vegaspbs.org/census-2020 for information regarding the live stream.

Coronavirus in Nevada:Timeline of virus' presence in Reno, statewide

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Sam Gross is a breaking news reporter for the Reno Gazette Journal who covers wildfires, emergencies and more. Support his work by subscribing to RGJ.com.