Good afternoon, thank you for joing me for today's #COVID19 update. I am joined today by COVID-19 Response Director Caleb Cage & Ms. Julia Peek, who is leading our contact tracing efforts from the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services.

First, a national update: The 7-day average of new cases in the U.S. exceeded 70,000 for the first time & more than half the states are reporting case numbers at new records. In the last month, the number of COVID hospitalizations in the U.S. climbed 45%.

Nationwide, trends are indicating that new cases are being driven by relatively small gatherings of families and friends where folks are more likely to let their guards down. That’s the COVID fatigue setting in. We must overcome it.

Vaccines are in development but are still not expected, by most experts, until early 2021 at the very earliest, and they are not likely to be widely available to the general public until significantly later.

This is data from the White House report showing cases per 100,000 three months ago, two months ago & one month ago. Three months ago, we had a few areas of real concern, but about a month ago, Nevada was doing pretty well.

This graphic shows the data from the last week.  We’re seeing alarming trends in new cases in Nevada and across the United States.

In this week’s White House report, NV, is in the Red Zone. We’re the 22nd highest state reporting more than 100 new cases per 100,000 residents. 71 percent of counties have moderator or high levels of community transition & 24 percent of counties are in the Red Zone.

"Red Zone” is based on the number of known cases and high test-positivity rates. That suggests there may be more cases than currently estimated or found through testing and contact tracing. That means we have community spread.

Yesterday in NV, there were 571 cases identified, 10 new reported deaths, 7,248 new tests, and the 14-day test positivity rate is 10.1 percent. For the last 7-day period, cases are growing at a rate of 774 new cases per day. Last week, it was 666 new cases per day.

Here is a snapshot of our testing data. As a reminder, we are working to meet a CDC goal of testing a minimum of 2 percent of Nevada’s population per month. Which would break down to about 2,200 tests per day, which we are meeting.

The number of new cases of COVID-19 began to increase at the end of September. We are seeing an infection rate above 1, which means it will continue to spread unless there are changes in our behavior. The 14-day test positivity rate has climbed to 10 percent.

And as we’ve seen in Nevada and across the country, an increase in cases almost always leads to an increase in hospitalization two to three weeks later. We saw an uptick in cases in July and you can see hospitalizations climb in the State in August.

After cases surges come hospitalizations and then, unfortunately, deaths can occur .  After cases and hospitalizations increased this summer, you can see the corresponding increase in deaths. It is all tied together.

Hospitals have learned a lot in the last 8 months about caring and treating for COVID. But that’s not through luck. That’s through the hard work of our medical professionals each and every day to provide the highest levels of care.

We don’t want to end up like other states who are on the brink of implementing crisis standards of care, which is when hospitals evaluate which patients have a better chance of survival. NV is not actively implementing crisis standards of care & we want to keep it that way

At this time, Nevada has found about 25 percent of COVID-19 cases through contact tracing.  That means there are positive cases out there we are NOT catching through contact tracing, which is an indicator of community spread.

That’s part of the reason why we implemented and have been encouraging Nevadans to download and use the COVID Trace App. It helps supplement our traditional disease investigation . You can learn more about the app here: https://nvhealthresponse.nv.gov/covidtrace/ 

Back in July, @DhhsNevada began looking at data from counties & using three metrics to determine counties with an increased risk of transmission. If counties meet 2 of 3, they are at risk. They look at the number of tests per day, cases per 100,000 residents & test positivity.

As of Monday, 8 of 17 counties have an elevated risk. Washoe has seen an elevated risk of transmission for 5 weeks. Lyon County for 3 weeks in a row. Clark, Elko, & Lincoln for 2 weeks in a row. This week, Carson City, Humboldt & Nye were added.

We don’t mean to scare you with the data – we feel an obligation to have honest conversations about where we are & what will happen if we don’t take this seriously. If we don’t step up together & follow public health measures, hard decisions & trade offs are ahead.

The pandemic has been framed as a false choice: shut it down or do nothing – but we know that’s not the case. We know that doesn’t have to be our reality – we know we can’t afford it.

We can continue doing our best to balance the heath & safety of Nevadans with the need to protect our economy, keep people employed, provide an education to our kids, & more.

I promise that I am doing everything I can to manage this balancing act. And that balancing act in Nevada is perhaps the toughest than in any other state.

As many Nevadans know – we had to cut over 25 percent of our annual budget last time we shut down. That translates to real services the State provides to Nevadans. That’s a devastating cut. I am doing everything I can to try to avoid having to do that again.

Earlier today, I met with edu & health officials, because I want more kids to get in-person learning in a safe & responsible way. I am proud of our superintendents & education leaders for their commitment to safety. We are making progress & I look forward to more updates soon.

I’m also planning meetings with economic & business leaders and health officials, too. That’s because I don’t want businesses to go under, I don’t want people to lose their jobs & I want to mitigate COVID-19 as much as we can to help keep people safe and healthy.

That’s part of the reason why I’ve empowered local communities from the start, to take additional mitigation measures if they’re experiencing a surge. That’s why we created the county tracker. It's why we created a Task Force to take targeted approaches with counties.

The COVID-19 task force has an emergency meeting planned with Washoe tomorrow, as Washoe has been listed as having an elevated risk for 5 weeks.

So here it is Nevadans. Here is my call to action to each & every one of you.

We must remain vigilant against COVID.

Wear your mask properly – that means completely over your nose and your mouth.

Practice social distancing.

Wash your hands.

Avoid large crowds – make sure you’re social distancing especially if you are indoors.

Be mindful of your interactions with others.

Get a test if you have been exposed to someone who may have COVID-19.

Get a flu shot.

I also want to talk about social services that are available to Nevadans. This includes the NV Resilience Project. We know this has been a difficult year. Mental & emotional health resources are available.

The Nevada Resilience Project has Resilience Ambassadors located with our community service providers across the state. The project focuses on promotion, prevention and early intervention.

The Resilience Ambassadors are working at the community level with agencies to provide strategies & stress management. A new website for the project has launched and I encourage you to check it out at https://www.nevada211.org/nevada-resilience-project/

I’d also like to share some information about housing resources available within the state. There are federal eviction protections in place from the CDC that cover those who qualify. This is an opt in program, so tenants must fill out a declaration form provided by the CDC.

If you need help filling out the form or you think your landlord is inappropriately trying to evict you, you can seek help from your local legal aid provider. More information on where to find this form & how to fill it out are available. Learn more here: http://housing.nv.gov/ 

This year there was new legislation passed during the 2nd special legislative session that allow the NV Supreme Court to stand up a new mediation program so landlords & tenants could resolve disputes themselves. Learn more here: http://homemnv.org/renter-connect/ 

Please know that help is out there, and there are resources available for Nevadans who may need it.

Times are tough, but Nevadans are tougher. We can get through this...together.