Vaccine to arrive in Carson City next weekend

There’s light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel now that the FDA has approved the Pfizer vaccine. The first of the vaccine deliveries to our city should arrive here by 20 December with the First Tier to receive the vaccines.

Tier One includes:

• General medical and surgical hospital staff
• Long term care facilities – staff & residents
• Psychiatric and substance abuse hospitals
• Emergency medical services personnel
• Frontline public health – workforce and volunteers
• Laboratory workers
• Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians
• Outpatient and home health providers
• Nevada Department of Corrections – staff
• Deployed and mission critical personnel who play essential role in national security.
• State and local emergency operations personnel

According to the Daily Indy:
Nevada Ranks #1 per capita for COVID hospitalizations

Nevada now has the highest number of people hospitalized per capita of any state, 58.8 people per 100,000 residents, now ahead of South Dakota, which has 56.6 people hospitalized per 100,000 residents and had the highest rate of COVID-19 hospitalizations per capita last week. An average of 2,723 cases have been reported daily over the past seven days.

Thanks to reporter Megan Messerly for the complete update. Please read the full story here, for it explains what is going on in our state.

Quad-County Region continues upward COVID-19 spiral

Within the 4-county region, Carson’s numbers continue to rise.  A good portion of the rising numbers can be attributed to two of our three prisons.  At last count, Warm Springs has accounted for over 535 positive tests and the minimum security Stewart Conservation Camp accounts for an additional 232. We have no knowledge at this point of what is happening at Northern Nevada Correctional Center. While we think it is unfair for the prison population to be counted against the overall stats of the region, we are informed that because this is the “home” (however temporary) of the prisoners, Carson City is being dunned. CCHS is working with the state to have these numbers eliminated.

This was released from CCHS on 12/8:  Of the new cases reported today, 232 are from the Stewart Conservation Camp. CCHHS has requested these individuals not be counted in the Quad-County numbers. This request was sent to the Nevada COVID-19 Mitigation and Management Task Force and they indicated at the last meeting that there would be further discussion on this topic. Until CCHHS receives the approval to remove the prison numbers from the Quad-County numbers, CCHHS is required to include them in the numbers. This brings the total number of cases to 6,420, with 3,086 recoveries and 59 deaths; 3,275 cases remain active.Link

The next free testing event is scheduled at Carson City Public Works at 3505 Butti Way between noon-2 next Friday, December 18.

DETR under fire – lots of fraudulent claims

The Reno Gazette Journal had a front page story this past Sunday on the travails of DETR. There’s been lots of fraudulent payments most especially under the PUA category. The most recent DETR news release states nearly 167,000 PUA claims have been found ineligible. Read the full press release.

Also, DETR is now finally upgrading their website to improve navigation on claimant and employer login screens beginning this Saturday. 

You are asked to navigate to the following websites to access the new login screens:

• Claimants: http://ui.nv.gov/css.html, in the upper left-hand corner click on “Existing Claimant Sign In”
• Employers: http://ui.nv.gov/ess.html, in the upper left-hand corner click on “Existing User Sign In”

(press release)

There’s talk, talk, talk, but will there be action?

The ongoing pandemic continues to upend people’s lives as the unemployment continues – and could again become worse if the governor shuts down the economy even further. DETR just reported an increase in overall claims – up 36.3 percent since December 5. (press release)

There’s no consensus yet in the U.S. Congress about the continuation of the unemployment program. The feds continue to discuss an added $300 per unemployment paycheck, but Nevada cannot afford to continue the thousands of payments. DETR has stated it will not pay eligible filers the sixth round of the $300 per week Lost Wages Assistance program unless is received more $$’s from the fed. Link

We’re breathlessly waiting for the
Governor’s next press conference

Our three week “pause” is coming to an end and the whole state is on edge waiting to learn what is in store for each until COVID-19 stats subside. Businesses are always hit the hardest unless they are considered “essential” and those “essential” businesses will have the opportunity to receive the vaccine under the Tier 2 level.  Link

CCHHS changes case reporting protocol

Due to the increase in positivity rates throughout the Quad-County region, CCHHS changed their case reporting protocol.  Previously, cases were not reported until an investigation was completed. (that is probably the reason the numbers are now so high) Positive labs received will be reported as an active case and the individuals will be notified of their test result which may be prior to an investigation occurring. Link

Got an APPLE device?
Exposure Notification System launched yesterday

If you have an iPhone using iOS 13.7 or later and enable the Exposure Notification System, you will be automatically notified if you have been around anyone who tested positive for COVID-19. Read more about this new service.

Click here to learn more about how the Nevada COVID Trace app works.

Carson Tahoe hospital near capacity –
additional staff brought in

On 12/7, we received this notice from Carson Tahoe Health:
As you may already know, Nevada has recently been recognized as the state with the highest number of hospitalizations per capita in the country. This matches the surge of COVID-positive patients we are seeing and the increase in hospitalizations. Carson Tahoe is steadily functioning at near capacity daily.

The activation of our surge plan allows us to safely care for increasing volumes of patients. With the plan comes further changes to business as usual. With the holidays here, increasing hospitalized patients, and the steady strain on our frontline workers, Carson Tahoe has brought on additional staffing resources to allow a respite for our employees who are working tirelessly to take care of our community.

The health and safety of our patients and staff is our top priority so maintaining and strengthening our resources is crucial for the long haul.

Non-emergent and elective surgeries continue to be postponed until further notice, allowing us to fully utilize staffed bed capacity and handle increased volumes. Our visitor restriction policy remains active with few exceptions. We are monitoring this fluid situation daily to assure specific needs are being addressed and that our patients are being cared for in the best possible way.

We, along with the rest of Nevada’s healthcare workers, are asking our community to help stop the spread of COVID-19 by doing your part to protect yourself and others.

Will you be following the Starbucks lead by raising wages?

Starbucks just announced an additional pay raise of at least 10% on top of the earlier raise in March given to baristas, supervisors, and café attendants hired before September 14. Those who have worked longer will get an even higher raise. The company is taking this action in light of President-Elect Biden’s proposed Main Street Recovery Plan that include raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour. Link