Please tune in now to my 4:30 p.m. update. Tune in here.

Thank you all for joining me in this virtual format today for this press conference. As many of you know, I tested positive for COVID. I’m feeling good and am not experiencing any symptoms.

I cannot stress enough my sincere gratitude to all the health officials who assisted me through this process - as a State we owe them a debt of gratitude for their continued service throughout this entire pandemic.

Although I’m not experiencing symptoms, many Nevadans whodo. My heart goes out to all t hose who are sick with this virus , and to the families of the more than 2,000 Nevadans who died from COVID-19. Not a day goes by where I don’t think about these families and their grief.

All of you are aware of the escalating COVID-19 cases in our nation and in our state. Almost two weeks ago, I asked that we step up our efforts to mitigate the spread of this dangerous and highly contagious virus.

I’ve been in constant contact with our public health leaders, economics experts, our vaccination preparation team and many others to assess our current surge and possible next steps.

As of today, 13 of 17 of our counties are flagged for elevated risk of transmission. In the beginning of October, only 2 counties were flagged. Our statewide positivity rate is at a record16.5 percent, and as I mentioned, we’ve surpassed 2,000 deaths.

Just recently, we experienced a record number of daily cases – 2,416 in just one day. Our previous record was 1,639 in July. Today we once again had over 2,000 cases reported – 817 in Washoe County alone – greatly exceeding their previous record.

Our case rate growth is at wildfire levels – even outpacing neighboring states, such as Arizona. All available models indicate that Nevada is in a “red zone” and our health experts anticipate continued case growth based on current trends.

In fact, 10% of all COVID cases recorded in Nevada since the beginning of the pandemic were reported in the last seven days. Every minute, a Nevadan is diagnosed with COVID-19.

Our hospitals are experiencing record numbers and as you heard from Dr. Tony Slonim of Renown a couple weeks ago, they’ve started treating patients in an alternative care site in the parking lot.

Some of our hospitals are experiencing staffing shortages because they have become infected or their family members have been diagnosed with COVID and workers are in quarantine.

Due to massive increase in community spread, we are experiencing significant outbreaks in our institutional settings, including our correctional facilities.

Our public health infrastructure is quickly becoming overwhelmed. And from the start I’ve made clear that in addition to saving lives, one of the main goals of our response is to protect our public health system and our hospitals from being overwhelmed.

Let me explain this quickly: whether you believe in the science of COVID or not, the reality is this – COVID is filling up our hospital beds and that threatens all Nevadans.

If hospital beds continue filling at this rate and staffing shortages continue to increase as they are now – that means ALL Nevadans will have limited access to the care they may need.

It’s not just for COVID –if you get in a car accident, or have a heart attack, or break a wrist...you won’t be able to access care if our hospitals are full and there isn’t enough staff.

This is our biggest threat. You saw it in New York, you can see it in El Paso right now. This can’t become our reality.

There is consensus on one inescapable conclusion: we are on a rapid trajectory that threatens to overwhelm our health care system, our frontline health workers, and your access to care. So it’s time to act.

From the start of this pandemic, there aren’t any decisions that don’t have negative consequences. Weighing the loss of jobs and businesses versus the loss of health and lives is painful, without a perfect solution.

While prioritizing the health and safety of Nevadans, I am also balancing the significant ramifications that further restrictions will have on our suffering economy. No state struggles with this more than Nevada due to the lack of diversity in our economy.

I’ve mentioned this high wire act before – this great balancing act - and I feel like we’ve been living in this no-win situation for nearly nine months.