CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - The number of known coronavirus cases in Nevada topped 100,000 on Saturday, and Gov. Steve Sisolak warned that “now is not the time to get complacent” as the state’s outbreak heats up.
State officials reported Saturday that the total number of cases had reached 100,763, up from 977 on Friday. There was no increase from the total of 1,777 deaths reported Friday.
“We are not rounding the corner in this pandemic,” the Democratic governor said in a statement in an apparent reference to comments made by President Donald Trump. “Now is not the time to get complacent or to give into COVID fatigue.”
Sisolak urged residents follow public health guidance, including wearing face coverings, practicing social distancing, avoiding large crowds and washing hands frequently. He urged people to take the virus seriously to protect the economy and other people.
“If we don’t, we will face tough choices and trade-offs that will be devastating to the livelihood of our state,” his statement said.
The seven-day rolling averages of daily new cases and the rate of positive tests in Nevada increased over the past two weeks, according to Johns Hopkins University data analyzed by The Associated Press.
The average of daily new cases went from 584.6 on Oct. 16 to 874.3 on Friday, while the positivity rate rose from 8.15% to 10.6%. But the average number of daily deaths dropped from 7.1 to 5.6 in the same period.
The number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick.
The Reno-Sparks area of northern Nevada has seen a dramatic spike in the spread of the coronavirus in the past two weeks.
A state task force on Thursday returned the cap on the size of public gatherings in Washoe County to 50 people. That’s the same level that was in effect before Sisolak raised the statewide cap to 250 on Oct. 1 as he relaxed COVID-19 restrictions.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.
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