Carson City submits 19-page report to COVID-19 Task Force

Carson City has submitted a 19-page report to the state for review by the Nevada COVID-19 Task Force at its meeting Thursday.

The report says the city is exploring additional options for testing to reduce the time it takes to get results, an ongoing issue.

Nicki Aaker, Carson City Health and Human Services director, told the Board of Supervisors last week that test results take seven to 10 days.

“Faster test results will enable CCHHS to more quickly identify and notify close contacts to help prevent the spread within the community,” the report reads.

The city is also asking the state for testing help.

“Nevada Health Laboratory is doing a phenomenal job. However, if there was a mechanism to receive test results faster, this would greatly assist with contact tracing efforts and reduction of community exposure. At the state level, please continue to research the possibility of having the Department of Corrections contracted under another lab,” the report said.

The city also asked for continued use of the National Guard, which has been assisting with case monitoring, and to see testing data collected outside of CCHHS by other medical providers and labs.

“We respectfully request access to all data that was used to determine

the city’s rate for the three criteria for elevated disease transmission,” it said.

Carson City had to submit its plan after several weeks failing on two of the three criteria the state uses to monitor spread of the virus at a county level.

As of Nov. 8, the city’s cases per 1,000 residents over the last 30 days is 1,153, which exceeds the 200 threshold set by the state. The city’s positivity rate is 10.2 percent, above the 8 percent guideline. The city meets the state’s requirements for a third criteria, the average number of tests per day per 100,000. The city’s average is 386, exceeding the

100 tests set by the state.

The report said hospitalization of confirmed and suspected cases of COVID-19 have doubled in each of the last two weeks.

Between Oct. 25 and Nov. 8, Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center has had 75 percent of its 159 staffed medical beds occupied and 80 percent of its 17 intensive care unit beds occupied as well as five ventilators or 22 percent in use. Those numbers include all patients, not just those with COVID-19.

“The percentage of COVID-19 patients relative to the CTRMC’s total census has increased from less than 10 percent at the beginning of the period, to over 25 percent in the last week. In addition, the percentage of COVID-19 patients relative to the total number of adult ICU patients has increased from around 15 percent to 30 percent,” according to the report.

The hospital as of Nov. 3 canceled elective surgeries and last week reopened its State Disaster Medical Facility tent from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily to deal with lower acuity patients while higher acuity patients are admitted to the emergency department.

The hospital is also facing low supplies of gloves and N95 masks.

CTRMC considers its overall bed capacity to be 144 acute care beds, but could nearly triple that in an emergency.

“The most ‘extreme’ phase of the surge plans allows for a census of 418 patients. However, in order to surge to this capacity, the hospital would have to implement crisis standard care, limit documentation, and have most staff work 60 hours per week,” reads the report.

The state COVID-19 task force is reviewing mitigation plans from Carson City and Clark, Elko, Humboldt, Lincoln, Lyon, Nye, and Washoe counties, according to its meeting agenda, and may vote to adopt, modify or reject each plan.