CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak said Tuesday he has returned to his office following completion of the self-isolation he began after he was diagnosed with COVID-19 in mid-November.
“My team and I are continuing to work on behalf of all Nevadans during the ongoing pandemic,” Sisolak said on Twitter. “Thank you to everyone who sent me well wishes!”
Sisolak, a Democrat, isolated at the Governor’s Mansion in Carson City.
He announced on Nov. 13 that he had tested positive for the coronavirus and said three days later that he was only experiencing mild head congestion.
The governor was diagnosed as Nevada saw a spike in coronavirus cases that continued during his isolation and now is straining the state’s hospital system.
Others in Sisolak’s administration who have tested positive included his COVID-19 response director Caleb Cage.
In other developments:
- Sisolak rebutted a retweet from President Donald Trump that called Renown Hospital’s parking garage unit fake and a “scam.” The hospital added hospital bed capacity in an adjacent parking garage in November to keep pace with a rising number of residents needing hospital care for COVID-19.
“His consistent misleading rhetoric on COVID-19 is dangerous and reckless, and today’s implication that Renown’s alternate care site is a “fake hospital” is among the worst examples we’ve seen,” Sisolak said.
- The coronavirus pandemic is prompting Nevada’s public higher education system to continue allowing students the option to receive satisfactory/unsatisfactory grades instead of being scored on traditional letter grades through the current academic year.
The state System of Higher Education made the decision covering all eight public universities and colleges after many students requested the grading option because of the interruption to learning caused by the pandemic, the Las Vegas Sun reported.
The fall semester ends in two weeks and was conducted mostly virtually.
The scoring system was put into place during the spring semester, which was abruptly altered at the outset of the pandemic in mid-March.
- Some public charter schools in metro Las Vegas have returned to 100 percent distance learning following the Thanksgiving break, and the change is expected to last at least a week, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
The move comes amid an elevated level of COVID-19 transmission in the metro area, across the state and nationwide.
Schools operating under fully distance education temporarily include Mater Academy, Doral Academy, about half of Pinecrest Academy’s campuses and one Somerset Academy campus.
- The city of Henderson has announced it will provide $10,000 grants to 100 eligible restaurants in the Las Vegas suburb to help them during the pandemic, KVVU-TV reported.
Eligibility criteria include having made changes to comply with Gov. Steve Sisolak’s latest directive reducing restaurant capacity and requiring reservations.
The grant money can be used for a variety of expenses, including new seating and tables for social distancing, disinfecting costs, heating for outdoor seating and new lighting or tent structures.
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