Robert Perea, The Fernley Reporter
Two more Lyon County residents have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the county’s total up to six, with five of the cases still active.
The two new cases, announced Thursday by Quad County Emergency Operations Center, are a woman in her 20’s and a man in his 30’s. Two additional new cases in the Quad County region were also announced, both in Carson City. One is a woman in her 40’s and the other is a man in his 70’s.
Quad EOC reported that all four cases are self-isolating in their homes.
That brings the total number of cases in the Quad County region to 31. Of those, 10 people have recovered and 21 cases remain active. No deaths from COVID-19 have been reported in the Quad County region. There have been 16 cases in Carson City with five recoveries, nine cases in Douglas County with four recoveries, and six cases in Lyon County, with one recovery.
Leaders from Carson City, Douglas, Lyon, and Storey counties, known as the Quad-Counties, continue to coordinate closely with Carson City Health and Human Services (CCHHS), the local health authority for the Quad-Counties, to monitor and respond to the evolving COVID-19 pandemic.
CCHHS has been leading the Quad-County COVID-19 response since February 21. As the incident grew and become more complex, more resources and support were needed. On March 16th, the Quad-County Emergency Management agencies, activated a Multiagency Coordination (MAC) Group and established an Incident Management Team (IMT) to staff a Quad-County Emergency Operations Center (Quad EOC). The primary function of the Quad EOC is to support all operations of the health response. The Quad EOC streamlines communications, is the single point for resource ordering and requests, and provides public information. The Quad EOC structure allows the health department to focus on the health portion of the response while coordinating the other aspects of an incident response.
Battalion Chief Tom Raw, Carson City Deputy Emergency Manager and current Incident Commander of the Quad EOC, said “the MAC Group sets policy for the Quad EOC which allows the Quad EOC to support the extraordinary response that Carson City Health and Human Services is providing to the Quad-Counties”.
CCHHS is the heart of the COVID-19 response. The Disease Control and Prevention division at CCHHS is responsible for conducting the case investigation. CCHHS is notified of positive COVID-19 results and has an investigation team who contacts the case and asks them for the name of individuals they have been in contact with since becoming symptomatic. The team then follows up with the close contacts, asks them to self-quarantine and monitor their symptoms. CCHHS staff members follow up with the positive cases and the close contacts daily.
The Quad-County Healthcare Coalition Liaison, under CCHHS, is responsible for communicating and sharing information with healthcare partners in the Quad-Counties. If healthcare entities are in need of supplies or resources, they put in a request through the Quad EOC, who works with local and state partners as well as with suppliers to obtain the needed resources.
The Quad-County COVID-19 Hotline was established to field calls, answer COVID-19, and screen individuals for testing. The hotline screens individuals seeking testing and passes the information on to a team of nurses at CCHHS. The nurses will triage the individual and determine if they meet the testing criteria as set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). If they meet the testing criteria, the nurse will arrange for the individual to be tested.
COVID-19 collection and testing supplies continue to be limited due to national shortages. CCHHS says it is making every effort to secure these resources and test those that meet the CDC testing criteria. These are the same testing criteria utilized by all healthcare testing entities within the Quad-County region.
“I understand the public’s frustration with the COVID-19 testing process and the inability for the testing of everyone. I am frustrated as well, and I wish there were more testing collection kits nationwide so CCHHS could test more people,” said Nicki Aaker, Director of CCHHS. “Since there is a shortage of kits, all healthcare facilities, physician offices and public health departments must follow the Centers of Disease and Control (CDC) priorities for testing, which means we can’t test everyone.”
The following is a list of some of the actions taken by CCHHS and the Quad EOC:
- Work with state and federal partners to increase the availability of COVID-19 testing
- A State of Emergency has been declared in all four counties.
- Plan with regional, state and local health facilities for any type of medical surge.
- Plan for recovery.
- Coordinating with Social Services to assist those Quarantined and in need of assistance and providing help and support.
- A Joint Information Center (JIC) was activated as part of the MAC for the purpose of providing staff to support internal and external communications regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. The function of the JIC is to ensure consistent and efficient information flow to the media and to the public.
- Provide information to county officials, first responders, healthcare partners, and community members
For the most current updates and more information on COVID-19, visit: https://gethealthycarsoncity.org/novel-coronavirus-2019/
If you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 (fever, cough, shortness of breath) contact your primary care provider. If your primary care provider is unable to assist you, or if you do not have one, call the Quad-County COVID-19 Hotline phone number at (775) 283-4789. Individuals should only call 9-1-1 if there is a true emergency.
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