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People march to the Governor’s Mansion in Carson City during a rally to reopen Nevada’s economy.
Reno Gazette Journal
Editor’s note: This story is being provided for free as a public service during the COVID-19 outbreak in Washoe County. Please consider supporting the journalists bringing you this information by considering a subscription to the Reno Gazette Journal.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated throughout Monday.
Washoe reports 35th death
The Washoe County Regional Information Center is reporting another death in the county.
According to a news release Monday, the latest victim was a man in his 80s with underlying health conditions.
The recent death brings the total death toll to 35 deaths in Washoe County.
19 coronavirus deaths at Reno nursing home
12:55 p.m.
The number of coronavirus deaths at Lakeside Health and Wellness continue to climb.
On Monday, the state dashboard tracking COVID-19 infections at long-term care facilities reported 19 deaths, an increase of four from Friday.
The skilled nursing facility in South Reno now has 86 confirmed cases of the deadly virus. Forty-seven people have recovered.
The death toll includes 18 residents and one staff member.
The state is now reporting a total of 716 positive cases found in long-term care facilities. Fifty-seven people have died, including 55 residents and two staff members.
The number of people who have died at Lakeside account for more than half the deaths in Washoe County.
RGJ Investigates: Half of Washoe’s COVID-19 deaths came from one Reno nursing home. Here’s what went wrong
Quad-counties reports new case
6:40 p.m.
Quad-County Emergency Operations Center on Monday reported one new positive case and one additional recovery of COVID-19 in the Quad-County region of Carson City and Lyon, Douglas and Storey counties.
This brings the total number of cases to 104, with 58 recoveries and one death. A total of 45 cases remain active.
The new case is a male Lyon County resident in his 80’s.
Washoe health officer: Recent spikes ‘unsettling’
1:05 p.m.
The Washoe County Health Officer says recent spikes in COVID-19 cases are “unsettling,” even as Nevada begins discussions of relaxing stay-at-home orders and reopening nonessential businesses.
“It’s unsettling as we are working through the plateau of cases and working to try and see a reductions of cases … it’s unsettling when we see those increases occurring,” Kevin Dick told reporters during a Monday update.
On Friday, Washoe County reported 48 new coronavirus cases — the highest single-day spike in cases since the pandemic began. That spike, officials said, was directly related to family gatherings over Easter weekend.
It’s unclear if last Friday’s spike — and another several days prior that was also attributed to Easter gatherings — will delay or change the rollout of Gov. Steve Sisolak’s “Roadmap to Recovery,” which could loosen restrictions on some small businesses by mid-May.
“I think people may be becoming a little bit more relaxed and have lost some of the focus initially on how they’re protecting themselves and others,” Dick said.
There are currently 988 known cases of COVID-19 in Washoe County. So far, 34 people have died of the disease.
National coronavirus updates: Senate reconvenes; J.Crew, Gold’s Gym file for bankruptcy; hotels prep for return of guests
Latest Washoe numbers: 988 known cases, 34 deaths, 400 recoveries
11:51 a.m.
One more person has died of COVID-19 in Washoe County, bringing the total here to 34 deaths related to the coronavirus.
This most recent death was a woman in her 90s with underlying health conditions, according to Washoe County Health Officer Kevin Dick.
An additional 11 people also tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of cases in Washoe County to 988.
So far, 400 people have recovered and 55 people are currently hospitalized.
UNR, UNLV planning resumption of in-person classes for Fall 2020
10:44 a.m.
The Nevada System of Higher Education says it has begun planning to resume in-person classes at Nevada’s universities for the fall 2020 semester, according to a statement.
Plans are also being laid out that could see students returning to limited in-person classes as early as this summer, after July 1.
“Several options are on the table, including a hybrid approach with a mix of remote and in-person instruction,” NSHE said in the statement. “For instance, a science class might be designed to include online lectures and in-person lab sessions that follow established social distancing measures.”
Other safety measures could include reduced class sizes, mask use and increased testing availability.
Student housing and dining are also being evaluated, and there could be changes there that reflect appropriate health and safety precautions.
COVID-19 recovery will be tough, says Washoe chair
10:42 a.m.
The economic shutdown of the Nevada economy as part of a coronavirus prevention plan has devastated local tax revenues and Washoe County’s tourism industry, Washoe County Commission Chairman Bob Lucey said on Nevada Newsmakers.
Yet getting the economy back to previous levels will be difficult, he told host Sam Shad.
“In the last budget hearing I had at the county, we are looking at a $33 million budget shortfall in Washoe County for a half-billion annual budget,” Lucey said. “A $33 million shortfall in just a month’s time is dramatic.”
Washoe County’s overall budget is $717 million while the general fund budget is $363 million, according to county documents. Citizens of the county will soon feel the pinch of lower tax revenues.
“You’re going to see some massive budget shortfalls which is going to relate to services being cut,” he said.
Full story: COVID-19 recovery will be tough, says Washoe County Commission chair Bob Lucey
65 new cases statewide
Monday, 8:30 a.m.
The number of Nevadans who’ve tested positive for COVID-19 grew to 5,491 on Monday, an increase of 65 new cases over what was previously reported on Sunday.
The number of reported deaths in the state remains at 262, according to the Nevada Health Response dashboard.
So far, 46,166 people have been tested statewide.
In Clark County, 137 new cases and five more deaths were reported on Monday, bringing the totals there to 4,411 known cases of coronavirus and 223 deaths.
A total of 3,018 people there have recovered from COVID-19, about 68 percent of all the cases reported there.
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What we know in Washoe, statewide from Sunday
The number of deaths related to COVID-19 in Nevada jumped to 262 on Sunday evening, an increase of five over the weekend.
Nevada state officials reported also 115 new positive coronavirus cases on Sunday.
The number of people in Nevada who have tested positive was at 5,426. Nearly 45,300 people have been tested statewide as of Sunday.
The true number of infections is thought to be higher due to an inadequate supply of testing materials.
In Washoe County over the weekend, the Regional Information Center reported 28 additional positive cases in Washoe County and 19 additional COVID-19 recoveries.
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The total number of positive cases in Washoe County was 977, county officials reported Sunday afternoon. There were no additional deaths, which remained at 33 as of Sunday.
Countywide, 382 people have recovered from the virus.
There are still 562 active cases of novel coronavirus in Washoe County, and 51 people are currently hospitalized due to the virus. Two more people had been released as of Sunday, amounting to 71 cases that have been discharged.
Sixty percent of short-term, acute-care hospital beds were occupied countywide, up 3 percent since April 30. More than half of the Intensive Care Unit beds in hospitals countywide were also occupied, up 2 percent.
Update: List of local restaurants doing takeout and delivery during coronavirus closure
Ventilator use, however, was down by 4 percent with 17 percent of ventilators are in use, county officials reported.
In all 9,885 COVID-19 tests have been performed in Washoe County, down slightly because county officials are not counting patients who tested but were later determined to live outside Washoe County.
The Quad-County Emergency Operations Center —which includes Lyon, Storey and Douglas counties as well as Carson City — reported one new positive case and four additional recoveries as of late Sunday.
This brings the total number of cases to 103, with 57 recoveries and one death; 45 cases remain active.
The new case is a female Lyon County resident in her 30s.
Carson City Health and Human Services is working to identify close risk contacts to prevent further spread of the disease. Due to medical privacy requirements and to protect their identity, no further information about the case will be released.
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