John Locher / AP
Damaris Kiptoo, a registered nurse, dons personal protective equipment before the opening of a temporary coronavirus testing facility for casino employees at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Thursday, May 21, 2020, in Las Vegas.
Published Monday, July 6, 2020 | 12:18 p.m.
Updated Monday, July 6, 2020 | 4:50 p.m.
CARSON CITY — Nevada health officials reported 491 more confirmed cases of coronavirus Monday and one more known death.
The cumulative number of statewide COVID-19 cases now is 22,909, with 537 known deaths.
The number of confirmed cases has risen steadily since Nevada reopened casinos and other businesses in limited fashion in early June. In response, Gov. Steve Sisolak mandated individuals cover their faces in public places throughout the state starting June 26.
On a call with reporters Monday, Caleb Cage, Nevada's COVID-19 response director, said it was too early to draw conclusions about Sisolak's mandate and its effect on the spread of the virus. He also cautioned against drawing conclusions about July 4th festivities from Monday's numbers, noting that any holiday weekend-related uptick won’t be reflected in the data for two to three weeks.
Health officials cautioned case counts and testing data may be artificially high on Mondays because of limited lab capacity on weekends. Also, the number of known deaths may not exactly match the cumulative daily number of deaths because of cases where the exact date of death is unknown.
Since Nevada's mask mandate went into effect, state regulators have visited 921 businesses to check for compliance, Cage said. In northern Nevada, 16% of businesses examined have been issued warning citations for not complying. In southern Nevada, 34% have received the citations, Cage said.
Late last week, regulators swept casino floors, hotel pools, water parks and bars. Only 40% of casino and hotel pools were found to be in compliance. Restaurants and bars fared better with 80% found to be in compliance, but only 50% of the businesses checked during evening hours were found to be complying with statewide reopening guidelines.
Efforts to expand contact tracing have allowed investigators to identify the source of 4,649 of the state's almost 23,000 cases, said Julia Peek, Nevada's deputy administrator of Community Health Services. They have been hindered, however, by delays from the laboratories doing the tests and by individuals who have refused to cooperate with the tracers, Peek said.
“There have been delays in receiving laboratory reports, especially from labs that have never provided services in Nevada,” Peek said, reminding employers contracting with out-of-state labs to report cases quickly so contact tracers can begin their investigations.
Gov. Steve Sisolak has paused the next phase of Nevada’s “Roadmap to Recovery” plan because of the virus case spikes.
Worldwide, the number of infections is thought to be far higher than reported numbers because many people haven’t been tested and studies suggest people can be infected without feeling sick.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. But for some — especially older adults and people with existing health problems — it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.
