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Coronavirus / COVID-19 Information

Discussion in 'Coronavirus in Las Vegas' started by Sonya, Feb 27, 2020.

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  1. Sonya

    Sonya Queen of VMB

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    Nevada COVID-19 updates for 9/7:

    Cumulative test positivity is at 11.57%, same as yesterday; seven-day avg daily test positivity is 12.05%, continuing a tiny bit of a downward trend.

    Hospitalizations are not reported on holidays.

    https://thenevadaindependent.com/coronavirus-data-nevada
     
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  2. Sonya

    Sonya Queen of VMB

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    Nevada COVID-19 updates for 9/8:

    Cumulative test positivity is at 11.57%, same as the past two days; seven-day avg daily test positivity is 10.93%, continuing a downward trend.

    Hospitalizations are 538, -20 from yesterday and continuing a downward trend.

    https://thenevadaindependent.com/coronavirus-data-nevada





    LVRJ's Mick Ackers Reported Labor Day Weekend TSA Numbers
    https://twitter.com/mickakers/status/1303384667479924736

    Labor Day weekend saw the busiest passenger volume at TSA security checkpoints at U.S. airports since March. 4.1M passengers were screened Thurs-Monday. Still well below 2019’s total of 10.7M passengers for the same days last year.

    TSAnow.jpg






    President to Visit Nevada Next Weekend:

    Several outlets are reporting that President Trump will be visiting Nevada next weekend to hold campaign rallies.

    The first will be Saturday at 4:30 p.m. at the Reno-Tahoe International Airport in Reno.

    The second will be Sunday at 7 p.m. at Cirrus Aviation (at McCarran) in Las Vegas.

    Although they never report where POTUS will be staying, it's a safe bet to say it will be at his hotel in Las Vegas on Saturday night. People who will be in Vegas next weekend should prepare for closures at the airport around his arrival and departure times, as well as traffic as he moves between the airport and his hotel.





    And there are a couple new articles about the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and the increase in cases, based on a new economic study.

    Sturgis Motorcycle Rally was "Super-Spreader" Event that Cost Public Health $12.2billion
    https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/515453-sturgis-motorcycle-rally-was-superspreading-event-that-cost-public



    Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Linked to 20% of Coronavirus Cases in August:
    https://www.foxnews.com/health/sturgis-motorcycle-rally-coronavirus-cases-south-dakota




    Here is a direct link to the Study paper:
    http://ftp.iza.org/dp13670.pdf

     
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  3. Sonya

    Sonya Queen of VMB

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    Nevada COVID-19 updates for 9/9:

    Cumulative test positivity is at 11.58%, slightly up from yesterday; seven-day avg daily test positivity is 12.07%, up amid an overall downward trend.

    Hospitalizations are 552, +14 from yesterday amid an overall downward trend.

    https://thenevadaindependent.com/coronavirus-data-nevada





    AstraZeneca Covid-19 Vaccine On Hold After Suspected Adverse Reaction in UK:
    https://www.statnews.com/2020/09/08/astrazeneca-covid-19-vaccine-study-put-on-hold-due-to-suspected-adverse-reaction-in-participant-in-the-u-k/

    My understanding is that this isn't a reason for alarm. This kind of pause happens all the time in vaccine trials and doesn't mean that this particular vaccine trial won't continue.


    This other article has further information on the issue:

    AstraZeneca Faces Delay as Participant Falls Ill:
    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-08/astrazeneca-shares-fall-on-report-of-vaccine-trial-setback







    Labor Day Weekend Was Not a Good Look for Las Vegas in the COVID Era:
    https://www.cdcgamingreports.com/commentaries/labor-day-weekend-was-not-a-good-look-for-las-vegas-in-the-covid-19-era/





    Las Vegas Strip Violence Causes Increase in Security and Room Rates:
    https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/las-vegas-strip-violence-causes-security-room-rate-increase-2113930/





    NFR Will Move from Vegas to Texas for 2020:
    https://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/rodeo/national-finals-rodeo/nfr-announces-move-from-las-vegas-to-texas-for-2020-2113963/





    I said yesterday that the President has rallies planned in Nevada for this coming weekend. Today there was some shakeup of that.

    Reno Airport Authority: Planned Rally "May Not Proceed", Violates State's 50 Person Limit for Gatherings:

    https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/reno-airport-authority-planned-trump-rally-may-not-proceed-violates-states-50-person-limit-on-public-gatherings

    There was an announcement from the Nevada branch of the Trump Campaign that said both rallies were cancelled. No one contacted McCarran about the rally there, and that 50 person limit and the mandatory masks would be enforced there too.

    There was another announcement that POTUS says he will still be coming to Nevada this weekend, but details are to come shortly. I'll try to keep an eye on it and report when he will be traveling into and out of town, as it causes travel delays for people trying to get to/from the airport especially.




    And a personal request from me. Flu vaccines are starting to become available across the country. If you usually get a flu vaccine, please go a little early this year. I usually go in October, but I'm going to try to get mine today or tomorrow. If you don't usually get one, please consider it this year. I know that locally, the CVS/Walgreens chains are already doing the vaccinations. They are free through your insurance. And no appointment is necessary. Usually it only takes a few minutes.
     
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  4. Sonya

    Sonya Queen of VMB

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    Nevada COVID-19 updates for 9/10:

    Cumulative test positivity is at 11.58%, same as yesterday; seven-day avg daily test positivity is 12.06%, slightly down from yesterday amid a downward trend.

    Hospitalizations are 519, -33 from yesterday amid an overall decline.

    https://thenevadaindependent.com/coronavirus-data-nevada





    Since it is Thursday, there was also a Coronavirus Mitigation Task Force Meeting today:

    I have not seen an article yet, but I will edit with a link if I find one.

    The good news is that Lander, Nye and Lyon Counties are no longer at elevated risk.

    Tracker.png

    There was a lot of public comment focused on reopening bars. Many counties are asking for this and suggest that it would be a place that people could socialize where distancing and masks can be enforced, versus parties in private homes, where the virus is spreading.

    Caleb Cage said he sees a lot of counties asking for restrictions to be lifted when they should be implementing additional restrictions.

    Cage also notes that a lot of the mitigation plans from the counties are "light on details". They have presented a sample/model plan that counties can use to build their own. If your curious, the sample is here - https://nvhealthresponse.nv.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/DRAFT-Model-Plan.pdf

    Cage says the task force is committed to working with Clark County to address their concerns, but it is likely going to be several weeks until before the county falls below the thresholds.

    Clark County was testing 4200 people a day, now that number is down to 2300. Demand seems to have decreased. Because testing is one of the criteria, the Task Force is considering changing the criteria for testing levels.

    The Task Force votes to reopen bars/distilleries/wineries/etc. in Washoe County no later than 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16.

    The Task Force votes to approve Nye County's action plan, which will allow bars in Pahrump to open at 11:59 p.m. tonight.

    Cage, talking about Clark County: A case rate of 489 and a positivity rate of 11.2%. He says those numbers are "vastly different" than those in Washoe and Nye counties. He says Clark is moving in the right direction but not close to achieving success. Department of Business and Industry Director Terry Reynolds said that he thinks the move to open bars in Clark County is "too premature." Cage, again clearly opposed: "It was literally four weeks ago when our hospitals were at surge capacity or at capacity in Las Vegas ... I think there is a ways to go, strictly speaking, with numbers." Kyra Morgan, state biostatistician, notes that Clark County is testing sufficiently AND still has a high test positivity rate. She says it "really does imply that they have a lot of disease in the community that hasn't been potentially diagnosed."

    Bars in Clark County are NOT yet approved to open.

    Some members seemed willing to consider letting smaller towns (Laughlin, Boulder City, and Mesquite) open bars before the rest of Clark County. But no bars in Clark County are opening at this time.


    And while I'm typing, here is the article:
    https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/bars-to-open-in-washoe-county-pahrump-while-remaining-dark-in-clark-elko-counties






    Officials Say Las Vegas Restaurants Can't Reopen Bars:
    https://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/food/not-so-fast-officials-say-las-vegas-restaurants-cant-reopen-bars-2114457/?xxx






    Strip Unrest over Labor Day Weekend Shines Light on Safety Questions:
    https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/the-strip/strip-unrest-over-labor-day-weekend-shines-light-on-safety-questions-2115083/





    Ed Yong has written some great pieces on COVID for The Atlantic. He's got a new one out and I think it is a fascinating read.

    America is Trapped in a Pandemic Spiral:
    https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/09/pandemic-intuition-nightmare-spiral-winter/616204/

     
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  5. Sonya

    Sonya Queen of VMB

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    Nevada COVID-19 updates for 9/11:

    Cumulative test positivity is at 11.51%, down from yesterday; seven-day avg daily test positivity is 10.67%, still trending downward.

    Hospitalizations are 476, -43 from yesterday amid an overall decline.


    It is wonderful to see the numbers going down. Still a long way to go to get to the goal of under 7% positivity, but the right direction is the best direction. :)


    And because it's Friday, we have Coronavirus Contextualized:
    https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/coronavirus-contextualized-21st-edition-exploring-through-data-covid-19-in-nevada-and-beyond





    President Trump is Traveling to Nevada This Weekend:
    https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/trump-to-rally-supporters-at-douglas-county-airport-after-earlier-event-scuttled-by-reno-airport-officials

    Please be aware that the President will be traveling in Nevada this weekend. Although it has not been announced, I expect that he will be staying at Trump Hotel while he is in Nevada. The announced schedule is:

    Saturday, Sept 12, he will be attending a rally, previously planned for Reno, but cancelled due to COVID restrictions. Now it will be in Minden, NV at the Minden-Tahoe Airport.

    After that I would expect he would travel to Las Vegas to stay the night at his hotel.

    Sunday there is a roundtable event at Treasure Island at 10am.
    There is a rally in Henderson, NV at 7pm.

    Please be aware that there will be impacts to travel around the airport and around Treasure Island and Trump Hotel, assuming he stays there, while he is moving around town. You should plan ahead as there will probably be road closures.





    And just one more thought about Coronavirus. We are still not doing enough to control this virus. On the anniversary of 9/11, let's remember that we lost 2.977 lives that day and the world stopped and grieved the loss. But we are losing nearly the equivalent of twice that amount of people every single week in the US right now, over 1,100 of them yesterday alone. 193,000 deaths and we barely give that any notice. It is not a hoax, this is a real pandemic and everyone needs to pitch in and do their part to save lives. Please stay home when you can, practice distancing, wash your hands and wear your masks. Avoid gathering with strangers indoors for extended periods of time. Be safe. Stay well. We can all make it through this together.
     
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  6. Sonya

    Sonya Queen of VMB

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    Nevada COVID-19 updates for 9/12:

    Cumulative test positivity is at 11.49%, slightly down from yesterday; seven-day avg daily test positivity is 10.62%, still trending downward.

    Nevada is no longer reporting hospitalizations at all on weekends. Maybe I'll just do my news updates Monday - Friday too and give myself a little break on the weekends. I'll think about it.






    Wynn Resorts Files Lawsuit Against "Unknown" Individuals over Fight at Encore over Labor Day:
    https://www.cdcgamingreports.com/wynn-resorts-files-lawsuit-against-20-unknown-individuals-over-labor-day-fight-at-encore/





    COVID-19 Cases Surge in 460 Counties where Sturgis Riders Hailed From:
    https://news.bloomberglaw.com/coronavirus/covid-19-cases-surge-in-460-counties-sturgis-riders-hailed-from





    Canada Reports ZERO Deaths for the First Time Since March:
    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-canada-idCAKBN26301J?taid=5f5c35019ce301000129bbe2

    It can be done! I'm sure the lockdowns and restrictions haven't been fun for Canadians. I know it hasn't for my Canadian friends, but zero deaths at this point in the pandemic is quite an achievement.

    In contrast, yesterday America had 1,094 deaths.
    Spain: 48
    Italy: 10
    Japan: 6
    UK: 6
    Germany: 4

    One of these is not like the others. I wonder why.

    I know some of you guys don't like it when I post political in here, so forgive me for this article, but I think it's important. If these reports by Politico are true and the Administration is pressuring the CDC to change their data and reports to align with the President's wishful thinking about the virus, we have a huge problem.

    https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/11/exclusive-trump-officials-interfered-with-cdc-reports-on-covid-19-412809




    No update planned for tomorrow as Nevada doesn't report on Sundays (now Saturday and Sunday).
     
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  7. Sonya

    Sonya Queen of VMB

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    Oops! This didn't get posted yesterday. I must have closed the window a little too soon. Sorry. But, you get two of these today! :)


    Nevada COVID-19 updates for 9/14:


    Cumulative test positivity is at 11.46%, the same as yesterday; seven-day avg daily test positivity is 10.36%, continuing to generally trend downward.

    Hospitalizations are at 473 today, -3 from the last reported day.

    https://thenevadaindependent.com/coronavirus-data-nevada





    On a related note....

    Nevada Health Officials Predict Uptick in COVID Cases with Labor Day Weekend and Trump Rally:
    https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/nevada-health-officials-predict-uptick-in-covid-19-cases-following-labor-day-weekend-crowds-trump-rallies





    After Sturgis Rally, Dakotas Lead US in Coronavirus Growth:
    https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/nation-and-world/after-sturgis-rally-dakotas-lead-us-in-coronavirus-growth-2121056/





    Park MGM/NoMad Reopening September 25th, As a Non-Smoking Property:
    https://www.cdcgamingreports.com/mgm-resorts-adopts-smoke-free-policy-for-park-mgm/






    COVID-19 Vaccine Unlikely to be "Magic Bullet" When it Arrives:
    https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/politics-and-government/covid-19-vaccine-unlikely-to-be-magic-bullet-when-it-arrives-2119649/




    CDC Says: Kids at Day Care Spread COVID to Parents and Teachers:
    https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/kids-day-care-spread-covid-19-parents-teachers-cdc-says-n1239887




    I also wanted to share a part of this article that applies to the Las Vegas problems on the Strip right now.

    The first part is about the fires in the West and how people are out there believing that people are starting all these fires purposely. Several government agencies, including the FBI, had to put out statements saying to stop calling to report a conspiracy theory and to stop sharing the stories on social media. These conspiracy theories are spreading all over various aspects of public life, especially around politics right now, by people trying to "score points" against their perceived enemies.

    This opinion piece, by a Nevada Libertarian, takes a look at it.

    https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/its-time-to-stop-conspiracy-theorizing-and-face-reality

     
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  8. Sonya

    Sonya Queen of VMB

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    Nevada COVID-19 updates for 9/15:

    Test positivity numbers still have yet to be reported today. (Megan Messerly will) update them on (the) data page later today once they come in.

    Hospitalizations are at 483 today, +10 over the previous day.

    https://thenevadaindependent.com/coronavirus-data-nevada






    Passenger Removed from Flight to Las Vegas over Mask Refusal:
    https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-las-vegas/passenger-removed-from-flight-to-las-vegas-over-face-mask-refusal-2121948/

    Don't be this guy.





    Opinion: Stop Expecting Life to Go Back to Normal Next Year
    https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/15/opinion/coronavirus-precautions.html





    How COVID-19 Can Damage the Brain:
    https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02599-5

     
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  9. Sonya

    Sonya Queen of VMB

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    Update: Megan has posted the numbers for today.

    Screenshot_20200915-164432_Twitter.jpg

    As always, one day doesn't tell us as much as trends do, but increases in hospitalization and positivity are not things we want to see. Hopefully the downward trends will continue overall.
     
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  10. Sonya

    Sonya Queen of VMB

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    Nevada COVID-19 updates for 9/16:

    Cumulative test positivity is at 11.44%, slightly down; seven-day avg daily test positivity is 9.24%, continuing to trend downward.

    Hospitalizations are at 488 today,+5 over the previous day, plateauing a bit over the last six days.

    https://thenevadaindependent.com/coronavirus-data-nevada






    US/Canada Border Closure Likely to Extend Through November:
    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-canada/u-s-canada-border-shutdown-likely-to-extend-through-november-ottawa-cool-to-more-exemptions-sources-idUSKBN2662RS






    States that Reopened Bars Doubling Covid Cases:
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/09/14/covid-spread-restaurants-bars/





    Coronavirus Task Force Could Look at Expanding Nevada's 50-person Limit for Gatherings:
    https://www.cdcgamingreports.com/governor-nevadas-50-person-capacity-limit-on-gatherings-could-be-increased/






    CDC Says US Should Have Enough Vaccine to Return to "Normal" by 3rd Quarter 2021:
    https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/16/coronavirus-cdc-says-us-should-have-enough-vaccine-to-return-to-regular-life-by-third-quarter-of-2021.html





    No States Meet All Four Criteria for Having COVID Under Control:
    https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2020/7/31/21340268/coronavirus-pandemic-covid-state-maps-charts-data

    states.JPG

     
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  11. Sonya

    Sonya Queen of VMB

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    Nevada COVID-19 updates for 9/17:

    Cumulative test positivity is at 11.44%, same as yesterday; seven-day avg daily test positivity is 9.16%, continuing to trend downward.

    Hospitalizations are at 484 today, -4 over the previous day.




    Coronavirus Mitigation Task Force Meeting is today:

    Washoe County officially made it off of the list of at-risk counties this week, as did Churchill and Eureka.
    Clark and Elko remain on the list.
    Lyon and Mineral were newly added this week.

    taskforce.png

    Clark County is requesting that all bars, taverns, wineries, etc be allowed to open. They are also asking that churches and convention space be allowed to operate at 50% capacity, versus 50 people in a gathering.

    Clark County contact tracing says that about 26% of COVID infected people said they had visited a "Hotel/Motel Resort" in the last 30 days. 12% say they visited a "food establishment", which includes restaurants and grocery stores.

    They had some interesting slides that track the criteria they are measuring over time. For instance, here is the positivity rate over time.

    positivity tracker.png

    I know it might be hard to read on small screens, so I'll try to find a link to them on a website somewhere if I can. But if you look at the 3rd county down, that's Clark. They exceeded 7% back on June 26th, and have continued to be above the goal of 7% ever since, including 9/14 at 8.6%.

    Clark County Commission Chair Marilyn Kirkpatrick, making her case to reopen bars, says she has reached out to "many, many" bar owners who have given their commitment that they would follow protocols put in place. She also pointed out how many workers at these places are out of a job right now and ready to go back to work.

    Caleb Cage, task force director, points out that while counties can bring items forward to the committee, gathering and capacity limits can't be changed by the task force and would require the governor to change them. (Meaning, they won't address the 50 people vs 50% capacity issue for conventions and churches.)

    Kyra Morgan, state biostatistician, reran the numbers for Clark County to see how they changed in the last three days. Case rate went from 390 on Monday to 367 today. Test positivity went from 8.6% to 7.8%. Not showing an uptick after Labor Day so far.

    And, despite Clark County still not meeting two of the criteria (case rate per 100,00 people, and test positivity rate below 7%) the task force voted unanimously to reopen bars, taverns, wineries, breweries, etc at 11:50pm this Sunday.






    Wynn Reveals 548 Positive COVID Tests Among Employees, Out of 15,000 Tests.
    https://www.cdcgamingreports.com/wynn-reveals-548-positive-covid-19-cases-from-its-las-vegas-workforce-out-of-more-than-15000-tests/

    I hope that we all can agree that Wynn deserves some kudos for their transparency during this pandemic. As far as I know, they are the only property sharing any of their testing data.
     
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  12. Sonya

    Sonya Queen of VMB

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    One more article from today...

    Nevada Reveals COVID Cases Connected to Resorts:
    https://www.reviewjournal.com/investigations/nevada-reveals-first-detailed-look-at-covid-cases-related-to-resorts-2123598/


    After the article posted, Michael Scott Davidson tweeted:

    Little more context here: Between Aug. 16 and Sept. 16, almost 10,000 new cases of COVID were identified in Clark County. It is still unclear how many of those people answered disease investigator's questions -- but it shows how 26% could mean a lot of people.
     
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  13. Sonya

    Sonya Queen of VMB

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    Nevada COVID-19 updates for 9/18:

    Cumulative test positivity is at 11.45%, slightly up from yesterday; seven-day avg daily test positivity is 10.36%, also slightly up from yesterday.

    Hospitalizations are at 461 today, -23 over the previous day.



    And because it's Friday, it's it time for Coronavirus Contextualized:
    https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/coronavirus-contextualized-22nd-edition-exploring-through-data-covid-19-in-nevada-and-beyond






    Nevada Released their Protocols for Reopening Bars:
    https://cms8.revize.com/revize/clarknv/Doing%20Business/business%20license/Regional%20Protocols%20Form.pdf

    A lot of the guidance is basic like don't come to work sick or if you have a fever or other COVID symptoms, if you have a sick family member, etc.

    Here is our part.

    Procedures
    • Post Bar/Food Guidance at entrance.
    • Gloves will be worn when checking identification.
    • Offer customers hand sanitizer as they come through the door.
    • Hand wipes will be made available on the floor for customers. Please keep stocked.
    • All chairs/machines/handrails will be disinfected after every customer use.
    • Doors/ATM machine/bathroom doors and handles will be cleaned every hour
    • Gloves shall be worn when handling dirty glassware and ashtrays
    • Signs will be placed throughout the workplace for safety and social distancing.
    • Social distancing signs of 6 ft. will be properly displayed.
    • Any gaming machine that sits in front of a cleaning station, will be marked “off limits”.
    • When possible, plexiglass will be used to separate individual gaming machines.
    • Customers will be asked and expected to adhere to all property procedures.
    • Customers will be required to wear face coverings except when actively eating, drinking, or smoking. This includes any time a customer is interacting with an employee or with customers who are not part of their seated group.
    • When possible, businesses will offer customers masks if they have failed to arrive with one but will not allow customers to enter the facility without a face covering.
    • Signage indicating the face covering requirement will be placed at the entrance and in multiple other locations in the facility including restrooms. Additionally, all tables will include signage reiterating the rules and encouraging patrons to go above and beyond to help the businesses stay open.
    • Customers who refuse to comply will be asked to leave the facility and if they fail to do so employees will escalate the situation to their manager or the proper authorities.
    • Customers will not be allowed to sit at tables or bars that have not been disinfected since the departure of the prior party. This will be accomplished using “red/green” cards indicating whether a table is clean or dirty (or a similar process)

    There is also a YouTube Video for employees:




    In addition, the Nevada Gaming Control Board released their guidelines:

    https://gaming.nv.gov/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=17130


    bars.jpg







    Las Vegas Gets a Look at COVID Data, but What Does it Mean?
    https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/casinos-gaming/las-vegas-gets-look-at-some-hotel-covid-data-but-what-does-it-mean-2123423/





    Cosmopolitan Tops Tracing List as Possible COVID Exposure Site:
    https://www.reviewjournal.com/investigations/cosmopolitan-tops-tracing-lists-as-possible-covid-exposure-site-2124301/





    Dr Fauci on Bars and Restaurants:
    https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/dr-fauci-bars-and-restaurants-should-stay-closed-92022853652

    1.5 minute video

    Dr. Fauci: “Bars are a really important place of spreading of infection. There’s no doubt about that. And that becomes particularly important if you happen to be in an area where there’s a high degree of community spread.”





    Surfaces vs. Airborne: What We Know about How Coronavirus Spreads:
    https://elemental.medium.com/the-most-likely-way-youll-get-infected-with-covid-19-30430384e5a5





    Vacation Anticipation is a Real Thing. It helps your brain. And now it's gone.
    https://www.latimes.com/travel/story/2020-09-16/travel-excitement-provide-covid-19-stress-relief

    I've been recommending this since the early days of the pandemic. You have to find joy wherever you can. Just waiting for this to be over is going to hurt you in the long run. You have to have things to look forward to, even if it's just taking a camping chair and putting it by a bubbling creek and spending a little time there, decompressing.

    I've found that I'm comfortable traveling if I don't come into contact with that many people. This means condos and cabins over hotels. Outdoor activities over indoors. When I couldn't get away, just taking a day to drive somewhere scenic was a mental health break. Leaves are starting to change. Where are the prettiest colors in your local area? Maybe plan a day trip and a loop drive to see them.

    Take care of yourselves and we can get through this thing.




    One more thing I wanted to share that I saw discussed this week. Herd Immunity. The president is talking about it more often and there are great concerns with the math involved in achieving herd immunity.

    What it means is that enough people in the US will get the virus naturally and we will be able to slow the spread once enough people have the antibody and can't get infected again.

    Couple of problems. Number one is that we don't know that having the virus means you can't get it a second time. The science isn't there yet.

    Second, let's do some math.

    There are approximately 330 million people in the United States.

    In order to achieve herd immunity you have to have a MINIMUM of 65% of people infected. Some scientists place that percentage higher, but let's be generous and say we can get there with 65%. That is approximately 215 million people infected with Coronavirus, and whatever after effects come with that.

    Our current death rate is about 3% of confirmed cases Even if we use the conservative number I see thrown around that it's really a 1% death rate, that is still 2.1 million dead in the US alone, along with however many millions end up with long term health consequences of having had the virus.

    Let's not do that. Wear your masks. Practice distancing as much as possible. Choose outdoor activities over indoor. Be extra careful inside bars, restaurants, gyms and casinos where spread seems to be higher. Wash your hands. And be kind to each other as we're all going through a lot of mental distress these days.


    Unless there is some big breaking news story, I won't be doing any updates to this thread over the weekend. Nevada isn't reporting numbers on Saturday and Sunday anymore.
     
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  14. Sonya

    Sonya Queen of VMB

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    Nevada COVID-19 updates for 9/21:

    Cumulative test positivity is at 11.42%, slightly up from yesterday; seven-day avg daily test positivity is 11.04%, continuing to fluctuate.

    COVID-19 hospitalizations are at 449, +6 from two days ago, when this data was last reported.

    We still need more data to see how the numbers of new COVID-19 cases reported each day are trending in Nevada. We can see a little bit of a bump here after fairly steady declines, and we're about two weeks out from Labor Day now.

    cases.png

    But remember: These graphs often look different county by county. Clark, because of its sheer size, typically dominates the state's graph. But here we can see a more prominent spike in Washoe compared to Clark.

    clarkwashoe.png

    https://thenevadaindependent.com/coronavirus-data-nevada






    This image from Cosmopolitan was circulating around social media over the weekend.

    smoking.jpg

    And today we get this article about the new policy:

    No Smoking Policies Inside Hotel-Casinos Expanding:
    https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/casinos-gaming/no-smoking-policies-inside-hotel-casinos-spreading-2126176/






    Numbers Show Las Vegas Has a Long Road to Recovery:
    https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/tourism/numbers-show-las-vegas-tourism-has-long-path-to-recovery-2124953/

    thenvnow.JPG
    thenvnow2.JPG

    From these graphs, it looks like the only thing back to "normal" is the level of drive in traffic to Las Vegas.





    Mobility Scooters Create Safety Worries on The Strip:
    https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/the-strip/mobility-scooters-create-safety-worries-on-strip-2125168/






    Per Two Studies, Coronavirus Can Spread on Airline Flights:
    https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/18/health/coronavirus-airline-transmission-studies/index.html





    Fever Checks are No Safeguard Against COVID-19:
    https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/13/health/covid-fever-checks-dining.html





    How We Survive The Winter:
    https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/09/how-america-can-survive-the-winter/616401/

     
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  15. Sonya

    Sonya Queen of VMB

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    Nevada COVID-19 updates for 9/22:

    Cumulative test positivity is at 11.42%, the same as yesterday; seven-day avg daily test positivity is 10.54%, continuing to fluctuate.

    COVID-19 hospitalizations are at 441, -8 from the previous day.

    https://thenevadaindependent.com/coronavirus-data-nevada




    OSHA Fines Gilley's at TI for COVID Violations:
    https://vegas.eater.com/2020/9/22/21450351/osha-fines-gilleys-covid-19-safety-violations-coronavirus-pandemic





    Will Las Vegas Room Rates Rise? Will Shows Reopen? We Asked an Expert.
    https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/hotels/2020/09/21/covid-nevada-las-vegas-strip-tourism-gambling-room-rates-pandemic/5856079002/





    I also want to spend a couple minutes talking about an important milestone we just passed. Depending on who you rely on for case counts in the United States, we have passed the 200,000 deaths from Coronavirus mark. John's Hopkins made it official today, although other sources had this happening over the last several days.

    200,000 people. People with families, friends, coworkers, and community members who are all missing them. Many of these deaths didn't have to happen if we had a competent federal plan for PPE production and distribution, testing, tracing and a mask mandate.

    200,000 people. That's the population of cities like Salt Lake City, Utah, Montgomery, Alabama or Grand Rapids, Michigan. Imagine for a moment that instead of a virus, this was a dirty bomb from a foreign adversary that happened in March and 6 months later an entire city like Salt Lake City has been completely wiped out. I can't be the only one who remembers how we came together over the deaths of 2977 people on 9/11/01. This is the equivalent of 67 9/11s. It is the equivalent of 83 Pearl Harbors. It is 109 Hurricane Katrinas. It is 83 Pearl Harbors. And it is 50,000 Benghazis.

    Had this happened in an instant, we would all be rallying around the victims and mourning the loss of life. Instead, this milestone is just another Tuesday, apparently.

    In the six months since this virus started to kill people in the United States, we have lost at least 200,000 lives. An average of over 1000 per day. An average of over 3 people every two minutes. And there are no signs anywhere that this is slowing.

    It didn't have to be this way. If you look at other countries and even certain areas of the US, the death rate is much lower than that of the United States as whole. For example, if the US had the same death rate as Canada, we would have lost 82k people and 118k people would still be here. If we had the death rate of Germany, the deaths would be at around 37k. San Francisco, CA was quick to act with lockdowns, mandatory mask mandates, social distancing and closures of bars and restaurants. Their death rate is lower than that of the US as a whole. If we had followed them nationally, our deaths today would be around 36k. That's over 160,000 people who wouldn't have had to die if we had any kind of unified message fighting this virus.

    I call your attention to this detailed piece by Ed Yong in The Atlantic, that I have posted before, about what went wrong and where we failed on managing this pandemic in this country.
    https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/09/pandemic-intuition-nightmare-spiral-winter/616204/

    People are suffering right now that don't have to be suffering. Not only among the dead and their friends and family, but also the unemployed, parents trying to juggle homeschooling and their jobs through telecommuting, mental stress due to mixed messaging, long food bank lines, etc. The House passed a number of bills back in May to help the American people cope with job losses and education and food, along with increasing funding for PPE supplies, testing, tracing and Medicare expansion to help cover the costs of testing and treating COVID. The Senate Majority Leader has sat on those bills, refusing to bring them to the floor for a vote. Because the party position seems to be to pretend this virus isn't happening. And people are suffering and dying as a result. It didn't have to happen. (You can still call your Senator and tell the you want the COVID Relief bills to come to the floor for a vote.)

    But here we are. 200,000 dead in 6 months. Predictions are that we will double that number by the end of the year. So, where is our day of national mourning? Why aren't we taking a moment to acknowledge this massive number of deaths? This article makes some interesting points.

    We Aren’t Nationally Mourning The 200,000 COVID-19 Victims Because If We Did It Would Be A Reckoning
    https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/amberjamieson/coronavirus-200000-mourning-the-dead

    I don't care what your politics are, I think we should all be able to agree that 200,000 dead Americans is nothing to ignore. It's time to get serious about this virus and start taking it seriously, regardless of politics or party.

    We can save lives if we all wear our masks when out in public. If we maintain social distancing. If we stay home when we can and avoid gathering with people outside our immediate household groups indoors, for extended periods of time. Nobody is saying you have to stay home forever, but we need to make the little sacrifices so we aren't talking in a couple months about 300.000 dead and even more by the end of the year.

    I'm sure this little commentary will upset some of you, but I ask you to take a minute and consider if one of the 200,000 dead was your spouse or your child, wouldn't you wish you could go back and do something, anything, to make it so they were still alive? We all can do this now by taking the guidelines from virologists and epidemiologists to heart and do what they are asking.
     
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  16. Sonya

    Sonya Queen of VMB

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    Nevada COVID-19 updates for 9/23:

    Cumulative test positivity is at 11.45%, at a bit of a plateau; seven-day avg daily test positivity is 12.30%, continuing to fluctuate but up today.

    COVID-19 hospitalizations are at 479, +38 from the previous day.

    Here's a side-by-side look at new COVID-19 cases in Clark and Washoe counties. There's a tiny bit of an uptick in Clark after consistent week over week decreases, but we've seen a more significant uptick in Washoe.

    clarkvwashoe.png

    https://thenevadaindependent.com/coronavirus-data-nevada

    Washoe County District Health Officer Kevin Dick said the county has seen roughly a 50 percent increase in new cases reported each day this week compared to last week. The health district is attributing "a number" of the cases to private gatherings over Labor Day.

    For those who are curious: The seven-day average of new cases reported each day in Washoe was 87.6 yesterday. A week before it was 56.7, about a 54.5 percent increase.

    Caleb Cage, Nevada's COVID-19 response director, says the state is seeing "some localized increases" in cases: "We are seeing the beginnings of some trends that could be tied to the Labor Day or to other public exposures that have occurred in the last two weeks right now."

    Julia Peek, deputy administrator for the Division of Public and Behavioral Health, says she has requested data from the state's epidemiology program on COVID-19 exposures related to Labor Day or political rallies but did not have those numbers immediately available.





    Unfathomable: US Death Toll from COVID-19 Hits 200K
    https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/nation-and-world/unfathomable-us-death-toll-from-covid-19-hits-200k-2127443/





    Protecting the Editorial Independence of the CDC From Politics
    https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2771048

     
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  17. Sonya

    Sonya Queen of VMB

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    Nevada COVID-19 updates for 9/24:

    Cumulative test positivity is at 11.45%, unchanged at a bit of a plateau; seven-day avg daily test positivity is 12.25%, down but up a bit overall.

    COVID-19 hospitalizations are at 468, -11 from the previous day, at a bit of a plateau.

    Here's what the week-over-week growth in new reported cases looks like statewide. Last week, we saw 2,064 new COVID-19 cases reported. This week, we saw 2,535. This is the first week with an increase after eight consistent weeks of decreases. (A 22.82% increase.)

    weekly.png

    Here's what that bump in new reported COVID-19 cases looks like statewide, day over day. Remember you'll always see the graph go down a tiny bit for today in the morning since Washoe doesn't report until the afternoon.

    cases.png



    And a quick congratulations to Megan Messerly who is a finalist in the Local Independent Online News Publishers awards for her outstanding coverage of Coronavirus for Nevada Independent. Well deserved.






    Sahara/Grand Sierra Operators to pay $75,000 Fine to Nevada for COVID-19 Violations:
    https://www.cdcgamingreports.com/sahara-grand-sierra-operators-to-pay-75000-fine-to-nevada-for-covid-19-violations/






    McCarran Sees 1.7 Million Passengers in August:
    https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/tourism/las-vegas-mccarran-airport-sees-1-7m-passengers-in-august-2128933/





    We just passed 32 Million confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide today, 980k deaths. The United States may hit 7 Million confirmed cases tomorrow.
     
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  18. Sonya

    Sonya Queen of VMB

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    Well, we crossed over into 7 million confirmed cases in the US last night, not today.

    Nevada COVID-19 updates for 9/25:

    Cumulative test positivity is at 11.43%; seven-day avg daily test positivity is 11.77%, — both fluctuating but down slightly today.

    COVID-19 hospitalizations are at 460, -8 from the previous day, still at a plateau.


    https://thenevadaindependent.com/coronavirus-data-nevada


    Today is the day for Coronavirus Contextualized:
    https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/coronavirus-contextualized-23rd-edition-exploring-through-data-covid-19-in-nevada-and-beyond





    Virgin Hotels Las Vegas Announces Opening Date:
    https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/casinos-gaming/virgin-hotels-las-vegas-announces-opening-date-2129113/





    Johnson & Johnson's Vaccine Advances
    https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/23/health/covid-19-vaccine-johnson-and-johnson.html

    After some pauses and issues with the Astra-Zeneca vaccine, we may have a little bit of good news in this vaccine.





    And Governor Sisolak announced that next week he is going to issue new order about the capacity limit to gatherings of 50 people, per the Covid Guidelines.

    sisolak.jpg

    I have no idea if this will apply at all to casinos, as they seem to already be exempt from the 50 people limit, but it could have an effect some other aspects of the Casino Resorts. We'll see what the order is next week.

    I won't be doing updates, unless there is some big breaking news. The state doesn't report all the numbers on weekends, so if they get a break, I should too :)

    Have a lovely weekend. Hope you can find a way to do something to relax and ease some stress from this crazy year we are having.
     
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  19. Sonya

    Sonya Queen of VMB

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    Nevada COVID-19 updates for 9/28:

    Cumulative test positivity is at 11.45%, still at a plateau; seven-day avg daily test positivity is 12.71%, fluctuating but still trending a little up overall.

    COVID-19 hospitalizations are at 451, still at a bit of a plateau.

    Cases are continuing to climb again. We're sitting at a seven-day average of 438 new cases reported each day as of today. That's back up to where we were at about the beginning of the month.

    cases.png

    https://thenevadaindependent.com/coronavirus-data-nevada




    In related news, UMC reports their COVID Admissions are Down since July:

    umc.png

    This is good news, and probably reflects the cases dropping through August. However, cases are increasing again. The virus is still spreading in Nevada.





    Kristyn Leonard with Nevada Independent is covering the COVID-19 call in Nevada today.
    https://twitter.com/KLeonardNV/status/1310657948280971264

    Higlights:

    As of today, the state has logged 79,000 COVID cases

    The growth rate for the most recent 7-day period has been 1.6 percent

    Contract tracing has been able to identify 24.9 percent of cases in the state.

    Asked about the Governor loosening social distancing guidelines, the state indicates that Sisolak will hold a press conference at some point this week with updated guidelines, but that from a public health perspective, they recommend continuing "all mitigation measures"





    Washoe County Contact Tracing Data:


    Just like was revealed in Clark County, we have some data from Washoe County contact tracing.

    Washoe.png






    Vegas Veteran Takes Unvarnished Look at Entertainment Reopening in Vegas:
    https://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/entertainment-columns/kats/vegas-veteran-takes-unvarnished-view-of-citys-entertainment-reopening-2131867/





    Positive COVID-19 Test Rates Top 25% in Some Midwest States:
    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-idUSKBN26I10Y


    Be careful out there! Please wear your masks and practice social distancing.





    Alarming Data Show Third Wave About to Hit US:
    https://time.com/5893916/covid-19-coronavirus-third-wave/

    covid_third_wave_2.jpg





    They Survived Coronavirus, But They Never Got Well:
    https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/28/us/coronavirus-long-term-effects.html

     
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  20. Sonya

    Sonya Queen of VMB

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    I've had kind of a terrible technology day. My phone turned into a brick last night and I've spent all day driving around Western Washington trying to get a new one. Now I'm home with a "working" phone, but set up is going to take me a while.

    I did grab the COVID numbers for today, but I'm afraid that's about all I'm going to be able to post here today.

    Nevada COVID-19 updates for 9/29:

    Cumulative test positivity is at 11.46%, still at a bit of a plateau; seven-day avg daily test positivity is 13.02%, climbing a bit.

    COVID-19 hospitalizations are at 446, -5 from the previous day but still at a bit of a plateau.

    The number of new COVID-19 cases reported each day continues to again trend upward. The seven-day average of new cases reported each day is 458, up from a low of 267 two weeks ago (on Sept. 14.)

    cases.png

    We're seeing increasing trends in both Clark and Washoe counties right now. Clark is seeing 347 new cases reported each day on average, up from 191 on Sept. 14. Washoe is at 102 new cases reported each day on average (as of yesterday), up from 57 on Sept. 15.

    clarkwashoe.png

    Hospitalizations are at a bit of a plateau and deaths have generally still been going down, but again, remember, those numbers lag cases by a couple of weeks. We expect to see cases go up first before hospitalizations and deaths do.

    https://thenevadaindependent.com/coronavirus-data-nevada





    Oh, and I posted in this thread about a press conference from Governor Sisolak about expanding gathering restrictions from 50 to 250 people. This opens the door for sports events and possibly shows. Will be interesting to see how this progresses over the next several days.

    https://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/index.php?posts/2111549/
     
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